Scottish Doctor, author, speaker, sceptic

What causes heart disease part XLII (forty two)

It has been a long time since my last blog, but life can get in the way of other things. Three lectures to give, a deadline for my book and revalidations. The latter a complete pain that UK doctors have to go through every five years, which means gathering together evidence of all the things I have done, the learning I have learned, the hoops I have jumped through – and suchlike.

Then, my cousin dropped dead of a cerebral haemorrhage. At least he died doing something he enjoyed. He had just holed a putt on a golf course near Edinburgh, when his number came up in the great lottery of life. It reminds me that whatever we know, however much we learn, fate rules us all, and makes a mockery of our belief that we can control everything. ‘As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods.’

In this blog, I am going to return to stress, which I prefer to call strain.

Just after writing my last blog someone was kind enough to send me information about a study that had been done, showing that people who are under financial stress are thirteen times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease, and people in stressful jobs are six times as likely to have a heart attack. Not yet published research, but presented at a conference in South Africa. You may have read it1.

As those who have read my blog over the years will know, I have long argued that chronic negative stress is, from a population perspective, the single most important driver of cardiovascular disease. The mind/body connection is key to health, and thus, illness. This, I think I further emphasised by the point that mental illness is associated with the greatest impact on life expectancy.

‘Serious mental illnesses reduce life expectancy by 10 to 20 years, an analysis by Oxford University psychiatrists has shown – a loss of years that’s equivalent to or worse than that for heavy smoking….

…The average reduction in life expectancy in people with bipolar disorder is between nine and 20 years, while it is 10 to 20 years for schizophrenia, between nine and 24 years for drug and alcohol abuse, and around seven to 11 years for recurrent depression.’2

Up to twenty years reduction in life expectancy.

Yes, when your mind goes wrong, your body follows, with disastrous consequences for physical health. Of course, there is overlap between mental illness, drug use, smoking and suchlike. However, you can strip all the other things out, and you are left with the ferocious power of the mind/body connection. The power to nurture, and the power to destroy.

I usually tell anyone, still listening after I have bored them on various other issues, that health is a combination of physical, psychological and social wellbeing. Three overlapping sets. The holy Trinity of wellbeing. You must get them all right, or nothing works. As Plato noted, a few years back, “the part can never be well unless the whole is well.”

Who are the shortest-lived peoples in the world? Are they the poor? Not necessarily, although poverty can be a clear driver of ill-health. The shortest-lived people in the world are people who live in the places of greatest social dislocation. Or, people who have had their societies stripped apart, with massive resultant stress. Australian aboriginals, NZ Maoris, North American aboriginals, the Inuit.

‘Indigenous Australians have the worst life expectancy rates of any indigenous population in the world, a United Nations report says. But it’s not news to Aboriginal health experts. They say it simply confirms what Australian health services have known for years.

Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the Northern Territory (AMSANT) chief executive officer John Paterson said the findings of the report, which examined the indigenous populations of 90 countries, were no surprise. The UN report – State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples – showed indigenous people in Australia and Nepal fared the worst, dying up to 20 years earlier than their non-indigenous counterparts. In Guatemala, the life expectancy gap is 13 years and in New Zealand it is 11.’3

I continue to find it absolutely amazing that mainstream medical thinking casually dismisses mental ‘stress’ as a cause of anything, other than mental health. The connection is always dismissed in the following way.

People who are depressed, anxious, suffering from PTSD and suchlike are more likely to drink and smoke and participate in other unhealthy lifestyles, and it is this that causes their higher rate of CVD and reduced life expectancy, and suchlike. There is a degree of truth to this, but some researchers have looked at this issue and found that the ‘unhealthy lifestyle’ issue explains very little.4

Underlying such an explanation, it has been noted that financial worries can increase your risk of heart disease by thirteen-fold (relative risk). Many of the arguments about CVD currently rage around diet, with people battling about HFLC vs LFHC, [high fat low carb vs low fat high carb].

In all the dietary studies I have seen, we are talking about increased, or reduced, risks in the order of 1.12, or 0.89. Which means a twelve per cent increased risk, or an eleven per cent reduced risk. These figures may just reach statistical significance, but they are so small as to be, to all intents and purposes, completely irrelevant.

On the other hand, a thirteen-fold increase in risk can be written another way. This is a 1,300% increase in risk. Compare this to anything to do with diet, or raised cholesterol, or blood pressure, or blood sugar or – any of the other mainstream risk factors. It is like comparing Mount Everest to a mole hill.

Yet, and yet, attempting to divert attention, and discussion, away from diet, or cholesterol, or sub-fractions of cholesterol, or suchlike seems an impossible task. People may say that they cannot see how stress can cause CVD. To which I say, every single step has been worked out, many times, by many different people.

And if you want to close this loop further, stress also increases LDL levels, in some studies by over 60%5. So, when you see raised LDL, in association with increased CVD, it is not the LDL causing the CVD. It is stress, causing both.

Harry, I might be wrong, but I think Malcolm was talking in a more abstract sense. One man may take a certain amount of stress – financial problems say – and take a positive attitude to overcome them, and so suffer little strain. Another may become chronically worried.

Harry, even in the literal meaning it is the other way around. Take mechanical engineering. Force / area is the tensile or compressive stress exerted on an element, and the element reacts by deforming which is the strain.

So stress fractures occur because stress (think force) deforms the object in question . . . it is the deformation (strain in reaction to the stress) which leads to the fracture.
You could say strain causes the fracture . . . but why add the middle man . . it is the stress which leads to the fracture.

In your arteries the pressure provides the stress . . . the strain is the deformation of the arteries.
Interestingly, the epithelial cells of arteries seem to be geared to respond to pulsatile stress as well as the shear stress across their surfaces, both leading to physiological responses (relaxation, remodelling) . . . but it is the strain (deformation) that the cells actually detect that leads to the physiological responses. Local blood pressure variation and blood flow are the “causes” and the arterial deformation and deformation of the glycocalyx elements are the physical “effects”.

Malcolm has pointed out that stresses on the body result in strain which can lead to possible pathological issues.
The stresses on the body are ’causes’ . . . but it is . how the body responds under the strain (the effects) that can lead to consequences.
With this in mind, you can say condition X has happened to me because of the stress of Y (Think heart attack because of work pressure). . . . but to put it in terms of strain . . . you could comfortably say “X has happened to me because of the strain brought about by Y” . . . But,what about saying “X happened to me because of the strain of Y” – (Heart attack caused by the strain of work) . . . everyone would know what you mean – but if you wanted to maintain the physical analogy relating stress/strain . . . it might be more accurately characterised by “Heart attacked caused by the strain caused by the stress of work.”

So, having spent some time trying to train myself to talk about the strains on the heart/vascular system I now realize that conceptually I was always thinking upstream of those strains, and focussing on the actual stresses as the ‘root causes’ . So now I have talked myself into feeling comfortable with using the concept of “stresses on the body”. (Although the really interesting part is looking at the effect of the stresses – the strain if you like – to understand the physiological impact of those stresses)

I think it would be good to study health. So far I cannot find a place to study health? How about a doctor of health? So, what’s it like to be healthy? Generally. Not just recovering from disease. Just healthy.

It is non PC, but homeopathic doctors treat their patients holistically. Perhaps that is why their medicines have been shown to heal. The more that is learned about the gut/brain microbiotic synergy, the more I feel that you cannot separate mental from physical health.

Language ‘entrains’ the mind that uses it.
So studying health is not FROM a point of view in sickness. Studying anything from sickness will be an identity in ‘define, predict and control’ – and the stress of trying to maintain that idea of ‘control’ is a heart attack – in ongoing terms of strain.

“The world is based on this insane belief. And all its structures, all its thoughts and doubts, its penalties and heavy armaments, its legal definitions and its codes, its ethics and its leaders and its gods, all serve but to preserve its sense of threat. For no one walks the world in armature but must have terror striking at his heart.”~ ACIM

I invite considering that study in health is a recognition of resonance – (and thus release of dissonance). That is to say, fear-defined thinking will entrain (what thus seems to be) you to ‘manage sickness’, but thought aligned in health and wholeness will attract and focus in a congruency of being – rather than a system of thinking.

Heal-thy self is not defined in form – but in Spirit or Purpose. Unified purpose is wholeness of being. Congruence and coherence of experience – and already given you AS your being but for the insistent mind of an intent and attempt to make – or overlay – a different purpose or set of meanings – over the true of you.

I expect I am out of range here – but in terms of the ‘stress’ discussion – the underlying psychic-emotional shocks (we all have our particular patterns of configuration) – are ‘running’ as our ‘mind-in-defence’ and triggered, reactivated or called up – by any number of events.

The merely ‘physical’ view of health is itself sick – and needs healing rather than empowering.
Perhaps I could invite rather than tell, by suggesting that psychic-emotional conflicts associated with core guilts, shames, terror, rage, powerlessness are so profoundly ‘buried’ as to have a ‘mind’ over the top of them with a world of displacement – such that the problems all have the major part ‘OUT THERE’ – excepting when the ‘Inevitable’ comes home to roost!

I don’t say that there is not a call to disentangle ourselves from false ‘medicines’ that protect the sickness, and a journey of discovery in which narrative simplistic good v evil templates for unconsciousness, give way to such complex living beingness – that the ‘mind of define, predict and control’ is overwhelmed or led into a labyrinth of ever increasing complexity by the naive wish to find a ‘saviour’ OUTSIDE for a failure or breakdown of communication within. And so such a model is useful for those who have not yet connected to health within – and so fear within – as the ‘place’ from which the mind recoiled in a fearful and stressful sense of self-definition.

But I can write all day – so I pause and say – how we define – and accept – ourselves and world to be – set everything else to follow. And I use the term ‘world’ here not to our ‘sort of consensual agreements’ but as that of which we are in any moment embracing within awareness.

I have to say that I am immediately wary of any route to contentment and inner peace dictated by messages from God and Jesus, you only need to tell us that you are Vegan and I suspect the heat will be off me for a while.

The general tone of your word configuration seems interesting.
Please, write simply. Write more straightforwardly. Convoluted writing obfuscates.
Quit the dashes altogether. Your particular use of them only confuses.
I look forward to actually understanding what you have to say.

I know from previous blogs by Dr Kendrick and the comments posted, there are quite a few of us interested in the cortisol testing side of things. Most importantly cortisol testing with multiple sampling times during the day to ascertain either (a) the normal cortisol curve (surge in morning then dropping off) or (b) a flat response.

Are there any other tests for HPA axis functionality or stress itself? Or is a normal cortisol curve sufficient for peace of mind?

Be careful. Testing and more testing will result in “results”, that you’ll then have to deal with. Incidentalomas can be very worrying with months of follow-up testing to contend with.
Could it be that that might result in…
stress?

You are spot on! One of our regular commenters (sorry, I can’t remember who) in a previous blog suggested the excellent book “Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health” by Dr. H. Gilbert Welch. I got it from my library and couldn’t put it down until I finished it. I copied several of Dr. Welch’s charts for reference (good ammunition for arguments with your own docs). Very highly recommended to anyone considering more testing to see if he or she is “sick” or “healthy” — read the book first!

You comment really stuck with me, JD. I assess children (and I hope I do a decent job at it). I get reports from other providers where they’ve seemingly pulled every kit they could find out of their closet. Eventually, and likely through fatigue, something will come up. Often I’m not smart enough to understand their conclusions, so I stick to plain language and core testing unless I’m really concerned by a major red flag.

Bang on JD!
But even so, you still have the ‘problem’ of figuring out why what is stressful for one person but is no more than a challenge for someone else? More testing is needed!
Thus, for me, stress/strain, call it what you will, resulted in hypochondria which is another way of saying worry, so much worry, in fact that I got sick, really sick. Hence the phrase, ‘sick from worry’.
In my case, it was the ‘result’ of my defying the medical powers that be over statins and the alleged reduction in my lifespan as a result. Though when questioned as to exactly how much ‘extra’ time statins would give me, no answer was forthcoming.
The point is, the NHS put me through a year of hell with tests, examinations, treadmills, even setting up a meeting with a, I assume this is real, a lipid nurse, whose only objective was to persuade me to take statins (it was she who I posed the ‘extra time’ question to), as well as two meetings/interviews with the head consultant at a very well known London hospital.
So clearly stress comes in different forms and with different causes and affects different people, differently. I think it’s as the good doctor, there is no one cause of heart disease/stroke but taken synergistically, as with asthma for example, the sum is greater than the whole.
Given that we’ve emptied willy-nilly 40-50,000 novel chemicals into planet Earth without having the slightest idea as to their individual, let alone combined effects, or even a way of measuring them, but now we know for a fact that the combined effects of these chemicals has created an Asthma epidemic and who knows what else!
And it strikes me also, that because the heart, like the brain, is absolutely essential to us (eg, I can lose a kidney and still live), is it any wonder, firstly, what a resilient (and fantastic) mechanism the heart is and two, that it can respond so well to all the crap that we throw at it, and for most of us, actually survive the beating it gets.
Somewhere earlier in this thread, somebody mentioned that they didn’t realize just how inter-connected brain and body are but it’s actually way more than that; they’re not just interconnected, they are one and the same thing! How else do you explain symptoms with no ‘physical cause’? How else do you explain a Yogi’s control over his own bodily functions (breathing, blood pressure, pain etc)?

The principle here is of giving authority away or to an outside source. Once so assigned – you will dance to its tune.
Re-wakening to a true health freedom has to question ‘authorities’ presumed real, true or un-challengable.
Nothing helps regain a true control in a skid better than momentarily steering into it. There is something about the non-acceptance of what is as it is – that sets an entirely false foundation in wishing things different than they are – and operating the defence of this as if self-evident truth.

Thank you, Dr. K.
Your post reminds of how fortunate I am to enjoy a fulfilling life, happy with what I have in terms of standard of living, a long-time partner, (relatively) good health and wonderful mutually supportive friends, varied and absorbing interests, and not forgetting, of course, a social stability which we in the U.K. tend, probably, to take for granted.
I was born in 1942 and regard myself has having lived a charmed life, too young to remember WW2 and not having had to face the horrors of another, though I remember how frightening the Cuba Crisis was.
I continued my education after my children went off to university and now, thanks to your wonderful and thought provoking posts, my ‘education’ has lurched in a different direction, a science direction, and how I am enjoying it. So thank you, Dr. Kendrick.
So sorry to hear about your cousin. We never know, do we, so it’s important to live each day positively.

This effect has even been observed in nonhuman primates, where these fellow beings do not have access to the cigarettes, liquor, drugs, etc., and similar forms of “self-medication” that conventional docs want to say are the “real” cause of the stress-illness correlation. Perhaps this is how evolution has ensured that the genes of high-status individuals, with their likely genetic advantages, are more readily passed on.

It is subtitled: “how Your Place on the Social Gradient Directly Affects Your Health” – by Michael Marmot.
But I ask if your status is defined by your society or the other way around? Obviously we inherit and aspire within a social identity – up to point.
But a living FROM a true sense of worth is worlds apart from living as if your person really is what your role or social status assigns you.
A sense of worthlessness can be covered over with strategies or addictions – social or otherwise – but while they work – the worthlessness is not so consciously experienced – but will still be active beneath the surface appearances and break through in any number of ways, events or crisis.

The idea of adding good to a bad investment is an inherent fail – but while it can be paid for its seems ok in the short term. So the idea of self-worth can be ‘added to’ or dressed up in and ‘be-lived’ but I don’t think it stores up treasures in Heaven – if beneath all show is a sense of self-evasion – and frankly – we all have some investment in self-hate.

So is a well adjusted (to society) life a healthy life? I suppose it really comes down to a matter of choices made and lived in. If the society is insane – the breakdown of such adjustment may be recognised – (in time) – as the opportunity for true health and sanity. But that presupposes a willingness to accept and thus share in sense of worth, that one’s ‘self-adjustment process’ may starkly deny you.

But generally a sense of lacking attracts more lack and loses even that which it hath. Where a sense of having attracts or appreciates having. (Ref: Jesus saying). To appreciate a true sense of worth in others – is to have it. But the sense of trying to get it from others or the world – is to grow in the lack of it.

JDPatten: You are welcome to follow the rules you prefer. If you find you cannot understand what I wrote, but want to, and believe punctuation is the issue – then I will gladly revise in willing response to being asked.

It might help Binra if you turn off the random word generator. Also if you want to make religous references then perhaps stick to the facts such as religous people live longer but I suspect that has nothing to do with the existence or not of god but due to one of the few good things about religion namely social support

Binra. I am sorry to say that your posts are too long and too incomprehensible. Please feel free to write posts, but I shall be attempting to ensure that they add to the discussion. Currently, they do not.

Very sorry to hear abut the sudden death of your cousin, Dr K. It sounds as if you might be in danger of severe strain/stress with your workload… Please relax with a glass or two of your favourite over Christmas, and take a few days off. We need you in good health!

All the worry over what diet is best, what carbohydrate is actually healthful or not, how to pickle your veg to get “supplementation” naturally, supplementation per se — all the mental machinations gone through to armor one’s self nutritionally against a premature reaper appointment . . . all of that only creates deadly stress> strain and the early appointment you wanted to avoid.

JDP and diet. Do we need a healthy brain for a healthy heart? Maybe it starts in the gut?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27392632
“It has become increasingly clear that the gut microbiota influences not only gastrointestinal physiology but also central nervous system (CNS) function by modulating signalling pathways of the microbiota-gut-brain axis. ”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26306709
“There exists a bidirectional communication system between the gastrointestinal tract and the brain. Increasing evidence shows that gut microbiota can play a critical role in this communication; thus, the concept of a gut microbiota and brain axis is emerging. Here, we review recent findings in the relationship between intestinal microbes and brain function, such as anxiety, depression, stress, autism, learning, and memory. We highlight the advances in modulating brain development and behavior by probiotics, prebiotics, and diet through the gut microbiota-brain axis. A variety of mechanisms including immune, neural, and metabolic pathways may be involved in modulation of the gut microbiota-brain axis. We also discuss some future challenges. A deeper understanding of the relationship between the gut bacteria and their hosts is implicated in developing microbial-based therapeutic strategies for brain disorders.”

Efforts at diet manipulation can result in a 12% increased, or decreased, risk.
Worry over financial difficulties will increase your risk 1,300%.
With mineral, vitamin, specialty oil supplementation, wine, avoiding sugar and certain fats — aren’t you talking about diet?
Specialized aspects to be sure. Is the % any different?
Dr Kendrick??

JDPatten: Truth you speak. I had taken to heart the previous Roman numeral about stress/strain because I think Dr. Kendrick has hit the bull’s eye. I continue to think about food and research food and other lifestyle factors involved in health; after all, my mother was a nutritionist and I was a curious child, so she taught me a great deal. But what has improved my sleep, state of mind, and energy levels? At Thanksgiving I decided to make every day one of gratitude, to extend this best of holidays to the whole year. So as I am awaiting sleep I think of what I am grateful for; when I awake I think about what I am grateful for. And throughout the day I attempt to steer my thoughts toward being grateful. Even if it doesn’t allow me one more day on this Earth, it’s a hell of lot more fun that way.

While agreeing with 99.9% of what is stated, I will zero in on that missing 0.1%.

Not fair, uh ?

Two issues, 0.05% each…

– there is no such thing or entity like a ‘mind’. We have brains, that perform an infinite variety of fundamental and wonderful functions. The brain acting or behaving like a ‘mind’ is not one of these functions

– likewise, there are no such thing as psychological wellbeing, psychiatric health. All these ‘psyches’ are as non-plausible concepts as ‘mind’. Our brain simply tells us how good or bad the status of its four basic neurotransmitter flows and levels is doing: serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline, and acethylcholine. Everything is just that.

Does this post mean we’re going back to the over-stressed executive model of the typical heart attack patient. As far as I can tell, stress was always the prime suspect before science and ‘medicine’ got involved.

I strongly agree that “high-stress” executive positions may not carry the same risks as the “strain” Dr K describes.

Decades ago I read some books by one Robert Ardrey, a socialist playright of the 1930’s who returned to his anthropology academic roots in the 1950’s and ’60’s. He wrote African Genesis, The Territorial Imperative, and The Social Contract. In an era that celebrated B F Skinner’s notions of operant conditioning, Ardrey embraced instinctual influences on human feeling and behavior.

In The Social Contract, he cited a study of giant AT&T (the old AT&T, not the current version, which is really a child of the AT&T breakup). The higher a person rose in the hierarchy, the less likely they were to suffer a heart attack. It was quite a challenge to the stereotypical view of the stressed-executive, and it suggested that “status” matters.

At this point, I do not believe that money and status in and of themselves determine strain. I think it is how someone feels about such things that makes the difference. Recall that not all dislocated peoples and abused children get heart attacks. Likewise, not all apparently happy people avoid them.

Bob, that is probably in line with being in control or feeling in control. I wonder what happens if the company is failing. Do the top manegement suddenly experience strain or not, knowing they will probably receive a golden handshake?

Feeling in control is whole can of worms. I suppose someone does not feel in control if his management or company policy force him to do things he does not like. The question is how pliable his or her beliefs are and how much strain strain against this as opposed to accepting the inevitable.

Which takes me back to the self-righteous mentioned above. Do they experience less strain because they feel their are doing the right thing or do the chafe against everything that goes against their grain?

Also, did folks who voted for Brexit or the Donald experience less strain afterwards because they felt they had taken back control? On a population level, is this offset by the amount of handwringing that followed?

Thanks for that
Sorry to hear of your family loss, but congratulations to him for going the way I hope to go myself. My Father devoutly hoped to be found face down with a spade in his hands, but sadly he was denied that kind exit, and had a long drawn out departure with vascular demential, heart failure, and various other things that should have killed him years earlier. Hard for the left behind, but good and proper with no loss of dignity is the way to go.

My uncle went in a similar way, a massive heart attack immediately after winning a chess match. Thinking about it though, pretty much every other way to die is worse, except possibly being shot by a jealous husband immediately after the ride of your life, on your hundredth birthday. But what are the chances of that happening?

Well, I think you are right about stress as the major cause behind CVD/DT2 not least judging from our own experience.

However, judging from the same experience there may be a dramatic and immediate health improvement when changing the diet by turning the backs to most carbs and especially if you are trapped in the metabolic syndrome and overtly diabetic as my wife.

So, we are firm believers that diets may improve health when items that make you sick are excluded from the diet.

I’ve been having a small dish of “Chocolate Orgy” ice cream every Tuesday for the last few months. My A1c went from 5.5% to 6.2% over that period of time.
Diabetes is not just one worry, it goes fist-in-glove with CVD.
Is it blood sugar?
Is it hyperinsulinemia?
Is it insulin resistance?
All of the above?
In any case, goodbye Chocolate Orgy; goodbye diabetes worries (stress)!

Wrong in so many ways. Racist behaviour to native Australians over two centuries has both disrupted their old hunter gatherer way of life and excluded so many from acceptance in the new order. For most of the existance of ‘Australia’ its authorities have behaved disgracefully towards aboriginal people. And so stress is at maximum. Turning to drink is a perfectly understandable but wrong response to exclusion. Living such a life is bound to give rise to health problems. Look at stress to explain ill-health and not unhelpful approaches such as ‘they don’t know how to live like us’.

Dai, there are now roughly 600,000 people of Aboriginal descent in Australia. Over 60& of then live in the big cities and towns and live lives almost the same as their fellow Australians with the same problems of earning a decent income, buying a home, rising the kids well….The last 40 years have seen the emergence of an Australian Aboriginal middle class..And that is part of the reason why there are about 50,000 aboriginal students studying at Tertiary education institutions…

These facts makes a lie of your comment.

Yes there are Aborigines who have no jobs and spend their social security on alcohol and drugs. But these tend to live in remote tribal communities a long way from anywhere. But they are a minority.

I suggest you read the recent long essay on this subject ” The Australian Dream, Blood, History & Becoming” in Quarterly Magazine, 2016, by Aboriginal Stan Grant

A key fact that stands out is the low percentage of Aborigines that were alive in 2016 who were 65 years or older. Only 4.8% compared with 16% for the rest of the population. And that reflects the increased prevalence of chronic diseases that afflict many aboriginal people — T2D, Obesity, CVD, liver disease etc. as mentioned by Dr K.

2 : JD Patten I looked at the map of massacres. But there are at least 2 massacres I know how that happened in East Gippsland ( where I live for 20 years ); that are not on that map. And I am sure that many others happened in corners of this huge continent far from government control. The most recent one I am aware of happened in the Northern Territory in 1928-9. Not so long ago at all !!

But by coincidnce I am reading a newly published book ” Kin : A Real people’s History of Our nation” by Nick Brodie. And today I was reading pages 21-40.

It is a history of his Kin in Australia since the first migrants arrived from the UK in the 1790’s as convicts from Ireland and England. A key fact to be ware of — the proportion of men compared to women among those first migrants. Overwhelmingly they were men and women very. This had some very ‘normal’ & predictable consequences.

The new convict migrants ( often posted to clear & farm newly ‘settled ‘ districts, had the issue of local aboriginal tribes to deal with; like it or not. The map draws attention to the war side of things. But many made love not war.. They traded with local tribes people; they married local tribeswomen to cook and house keep for them in the bush, as they bloody few white women to choose from. And they had children as well and brought them up and cared for them

Nick Brodie in researching his own family origins discovers that this happened in the 1800-1820’s with one of the first migrants in his family. But the government did not want whites taking wives among the local people and a convict or ex-convict needed permission from the governor to marry So little of this was ever documented. His ancestor’s wife is never named. Officially she did not exist. But he had 2 children who when they were finally added to the muster rolls in 1824, were included as “natives of the colony” Both children went on to marry and live full lives.

His son William became a cattleman in the Monaro High Country around Cooma in NSW -displacing the local aboriginal peoples from their lands but also incorporating some of them into his work force caring for his large herd of cattle pastured on crown land leased from the government. Despite his clear aboriginal background he also married the white adult daughter of another local family.

If the five steps to CVD (cardiovascular disaster) can originate from stress/strain which is very plausible and convincing can the same unfortunate outcome arise by a shortened route? Without stress/strain are there others causes of HPA axis dysfunction that result in a four step process, other causes of sympathetic overdrive that result in a three step process, other causes of metabolic syndrome that result in a two step process, and other causes of endothelial damage that result in a one step process? And more likely, there is a compounding effect at each stage by mental, environmental, genetic etc factors.

As FH is caused by genetic factors can those (and I am one) who have this condition relax because it is not caused by stress?

So sorry to hear of your family bereavement. As a keen golfer I hope to go after a hole in one but not until my late eighties and on the eighteenth hole!

Autoimmune diseases that mimic the effects of chronic stress do correlate with shortened lifespans, and the damage likely can occur fairly quickly. As Dr. notes, people with some of these conditions have greatly shortened lifespans. We are seeing this happen with a relatively new, possibly autoimmune, condition — Type 2 diabetes/diabesity.

My impression regarding FH is that the danger is overestimated because the Dutch recherchers looked at people with heart problems and worked their way through the family tree. Apparently there are different mutations that cause high(er) LDL and not all of them result in higher CVD. However, if only those families are screened that already have several member with severe and premature CVD, the pictures gets skewed.

Stress, in what ever form it takes be it financial, social, mental or whatever is part and parcel of being human. The question is how much is ‘healthy’ and can any stress be healthy and what is the tipping point whereby the cumulative effect of stress on the physical and mental health starts to impact negatively. The old adage that stress kills is I think an apt one. Given I have no mainstream reasons for having heart disease it is interesting to think that maybe, just maybe stress has been the catalyst.
i am so sorry to hear about your cousin. ‘Hugs’

The stresses we experience today have not been “part and parcel of being human” for 99% of human history. I think that Dr. K noted, many blogs back, that our bodies evolved to handle short-term stresses — it went into panic mode when you surprised that cave bear and she started to attack you. Your cortisol level soared, digestion shut down, you emptied your gut with an instant bout of diarrhea the better not to weigh you down, etc., so that you could devote all your resources to surviving. Twenty minutes later, you had either escaped or you were dead. If you survived, you then took a breather and your body returned to normal. Today, the stresses are continuous, and not of the type we can fight or flee. The body never returns to “normal” and the state of heightened anxiety takes its toll, because the human body is NOT designed to cope with stresses of the modern variety.

My wife always blames her father’s lifelong ice cream addiction for his heart attack years ago. When I asked her brother about this recently, he disagreed, noting that their father had gotten into a ferocious argument with his now ex-wife shortly before the event. She is by all accounts a horrible person (not just from my wife’s perspective but from everyone I have ever come into contact with who knows her). I am pretty sure that co-existing with her for years was a likely antecedent to heart disease, culminated by the heated argument as a trigger. At 75, he is now on statins and other various medications, including an experimental one, which began after he ate two boxes of Girl Scout cookies and fell into a fugue of sorts. Choose your partners wisely.

I am sorry to learn of your loss. Thank you for taking time from your hectic, stressful schedule to share your common sense, knowledge, and experience with your readers. Please take care not to let your stresses take a toll on you!

I am sorry to learn of your loss. Thank you for taking time from your hectic, stressful schedule to share your common sense, knowledge, and experience with your readers. Please take care not to let your stresses take a toll on you!

I am certainly convinced by your last-but-one paragraph; from my own perspective, it sums up the series very well, thankyou.
As a frequent contributor I have often had discussions about diet, and your statistics regarding the influence of pro/anti LCHF/HCLF suggests that diet has but a minor role to play in CVD. The proviso I would like to emphasise is an assumption that all food ought to be pure and toxin-free.
You paint an excellent picture of chronic stress as a slow burn, setting off the cascade of events (which you have kindly described in detail over 41 papers). CVD, and many associated unhealthy conditions, must be the result of the strains of life that we each endure to a greater or lesser extent. How to measure the impact on each individual remains an unknown, but I am pleased that the diet scenario now appears to have been excluded from the equation.
The entanglement of life’s strains on mind and body cannot be underestimated, and there may be a case for medicine to incorporate a larger element of psychology and sociology in its practice.
No amount of pills can counteract the strain of poor housing, poor food, social dislocation and money worries. The sooner the powers-that-be understand the causes of the downward spiral of bodily functions you have described, the better. Seems a no-brainer to me.

I have 3 sisters who all have extreme health problems that are so obviously linked to the emotional and monetary struggles of their daily lives. I have been luckier in many ways and have much better health. This hypothesis resonates with me.

Dr K I am agree with almost all that you state in this latest post. However I take issue with your remarks about Australian aboriginals based on that SBS report. That report is very one sided.

There are now roughly 700,000 people with Aboriginal decent in Australia. And most of them live ordinary lives in the big cities and towns across the country. And indicator of this is the 50,000 odd Aborigines who have graduated from Tertiary education. This is a huge change in the past 40 years and a huge change for the better.

Meanwhile, simultaneously with this process, some Aboriginal tribal groups ( overall a minority ) in the 1970 – 80’s chose to go back and live in their own small tribal communities on their ancestral tribal lands almost always in very remote & isolated parts of the country. Often these areas are also in low rainfall desert areas with few modern facilities. No tarred roads; limited housing; limited electricity; limited education; hardly any employment opportunities; no daily mail deliveries; limited landline phone connections and no mobile phone coverage; limited police & other government services; limited water supply and often somewhat salty; no close by larger towns to get supplies like fresh vegetable, fruit, milk, & other refrigerated foods.

In this situation the lower life expectancy is to be expected. And indeed the same process is found in other countries.

I guess my remarks above also raise the question of what are the obligations on a society when the ‘strain’ leading to these medical health conditions is too a large extent self imposed ? It brings to mind the very old saying ” The Gods help those who help themselves”.

Bipolar and schizophrenia are not self imposed neither was European invasion of Australia for aboriginal people. I don’t buy your claim aboriginals in Australia deserve the problems they suffer because it is self inflicted and strain has nothing to do with it.
The Gods are a myth created by the power crazed in society to justify their immortal acts against the vulnerable to allow them to grab as much as they can and subjugate everyone else, often using debt as a tool of control.

I think the point is that nothing you or Malcolm says will impinge on those people, so it is entirely reasonable to look at them from a research point of view. Presumably those studies were not looking at the few Aboriginals who chose to return to primitive conditions, so it is really looking at mental health. I can well imagine that it takes more than one generation before people settle down in Western society.

Mark I decline to get into moralising about this issue here. It’s a quagmire.

I’m more interested in, as a country Aussie might often say ” What the fuck works ? ”

I have taken the path of becoming informed and making my own decisions for my own health and doing what works for me. So very low sugar, very low amounts of processed foods and oils. Lots of fresh vegetables and fruit and cheese and fish and meat. It also includes rejecting all the standard government endorsed stuff about statins and stents, while taking things like garlic oil, and a range of supplements & minerals.

A lot of this I have learned here. And that is why I am here.

On the other hand I have a mate who is not an Aboriginal. He & his wife spent a number of years in a remote aboriginal community employed to work there. Here is some of what he told me of that area. It is over 900 ks from Adelaide and 500 ks from the nearest big town. It is a desert area. It is a community that exists on Aboriginal owned land at the end of 5-6 hours sandy dirt track. No one else goes there as all people not of the tribe need a permit to go there. There are very few jobs as we know them. And high wages are non existent. Potable water is precious and is not used to grow gardens. So fresh fruit & vegetables are hard to come by. Apart from some bush tucker most food is bought in by 4wd or truck from hundreds of Ks way. And a lot of the bought stuff is drugs & alcohol funded by Social Security payments. ( There used to be petrol sniffing also. But all regular petrol was phased out in these areas 5-10 years ago and replaced by a ‘petrol’ which has been refined so it does not given any high. )

The health situation is dire with huge rates of obesity, T2D alcoholism and CVD. Domestic violence is endemic. The disrupted family lives mean that children school attendance can be patchy.

But these people have chosen to live in this their own area.

Back in the 1940’s ( as part of the UK atomic bomb testing program ) they were removed and taken to church missions as part of the official policy of assimilation. They were christianised and forced to adopt a western lifestyle with jobs and western foods and housing.

Then in the 1970’s they sought recognition their ownership of their own tribal lands. And they got it. The SA government passed an act of parliament giving back their lands. Then many of them went back to their own land because it is their traditional tribal area, the place of their dreaming, and they wish to speak their own language and live their own lives. They chose, and many still choose isolation in their own remote area.

But it is a hugely high stressed life : low income; poor diet; few jobs; lots of violence; lots of alcoholism; lots of drug use; lots of domestic violence mostly against women and kids; poor quality housing as the houses regularly get trashed and poor access to tradies & hardware stores to repair things as they are hundreds of ks away.

My mate & his wife lasted 5 years living in the midst of this. And then left for a more peaceful better life in a rural area on their own land closer to a bigger town, of 5000 people 20 ks away. . They survived but I would have been dead from stress after such a 5 year term.

And there comment on their lives there was not dominated by self righteousness. Rather it was sadness and regret for what they saw and could not change.

My wife and I are just now reading a serious book about schamanism (“Schamanism” by Mircea Eliade) which has been practiced all over the world and not least in Australia. Schamanism was a part of religious activities in “primitive” societies. A couple of years ago we read with great interest (actually two times) another “serious” book about “primitive” religions by the French sociologist, Émile Durkheim”

“The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (French: Les formes élémentaires de la vie religieuse), published by the French sociologist Émile Durkheim in 1912, is a book that analyzes religion as a social phenomenon. Durkheim attributes the development of religion to the emotional security attained through communal living.”

This book is mainly dealing with Australia.

As Malcolm now points out there is a tremendous stress put on any population when the structure of their society is broken down and no scientifically minded person can in my eyes deny that the colonialism imposed such break downs on all conquered “primitive” societies.

As the Vikings though pointed out: “Power dwells at the handle of the spear!”

Ideology/religion is nevertheless the glue which makes societies cohere. You must truly break the spirit or the “hearts” of the conquered peoples by whatever means and offer/cement an ideology/religion if you intend to stay in power. Otherwise there is no end to the resistance. The history of colonialism is in my eyes truly scary reading in this perspective.

Goran, your comment is interesting and worthwhile. And I see it in the light of what author of Sapiens has to say. In the last 12,000 years, farmer or pastoral type human communities have driven out or assimilated or exterminated virtually all forager type communities all over the planet…The few remaining forager tribal groups that remain ( eg. the Tsiname in Brazil ) live in parts of the globe unable or unwanted for farming by farmers…

Here in Australia all the Aboriginal tribal groups living in arable parts of the continent were displaced by farmers throughout the 19th Century (1800-1899 ) The only ones that remained were in the dry desert regions. ( Australia is 33% desert so that was a huge area. But with a very low capacity to support even forager tribal groups. )

In the 1940’s and 1950’s these remaining forgaer tribal groups were sought out and rounded up and relocated onto missionary run stations. This happened because the British government’s atomic bomb testing program and rocket development program. These programs was based at Woomera in the desert of SA. All the Aboriginal peoples within the rocket range & bomb testing areas were evacuated for their own ‘well being’…And assimilation was the official government policy. It provided the funding for the mission run stations. Lutheran missionaries were prominent in this process along with Catholic, Anglican & other protestant churches.

The shamanistic religious tradition written about by Durkheim in 1912 was effectively suppressed.

However from the early 1970’s the assimilationist policy was abandoned as discriminatory and racist. The government stopped funding the mission stations. And their staff were withdrawn. Many such stations were given to the Aboriginal residents and they were told to manage things themselves…Other Aboriginal groups were allowed to return to their own tribal lands as by the the UK has stopped testing atomic bombs and intercontinental missiles in SA…

But I suspect that the Shaman tradition documented by Durkheim was destroyed or so badly undermined that it is effectively now lost. I’m sure the odd individual still lives by that religious tradition. But it is very clear that it cannot/does not provide the goods and services that the rest of Australians take for granted.

Garhis wokmto control ferl cats is happening in what we call the “P I T Lands’ ( An abbreviation a very long Aboriginal tribal name which hardly any of us can pronounce !

It is mountainous dessert terrain i the NW corner of South Australia adjoining the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The North Est of SA is also dry. except when a rare flood comes down Coopers Creek from Queensland and maybe fills lake Eyre with water.

Ummmm ? It seems my computer has partially done it’s own thing here….And I did not check before hitting the post button. My apologies..

Here it is again after editing.

“Garan this work to control feral cats is happening in what we call the “P I T Lands’ ( Not an insult. Rather an abbreviation a very long Aboriginal tribal language name which hardly any of us can pronounce . )

It is mountainous dessert terrain i the NW corner of South Australia adjoining the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

You asked about the ‘North East of SA’. It is also dry dessert. except when a rare flood comes down via the Coopers Creek from Queensland and maybe fills salty Lake Eyre with water. Then life booms

Bill in Oz: I found the story you linked to very interesting. I was simply making a bad joke of the term “northwest South Australia.” I find it amusing because it has three of the cardinal directions, quite a feat. A fascinating landscape, Australia. Thanks for the information.

Just came from the sawbones. BP: 114/70. One effing fourteen over seventy!!! Zero drugs. Excellent kidney function. What did I do differently? Planted my feet on the ledge and didn’t talk before she took it. Is it the Kyolic? The Potassium? The vitamin C? The weekly strenuous hike? Don’t know and don’t care. Could drop tomorrow, but I’m going to have fun every chance I get in the meantime.

Gary, the past few weeks have been interesting re BP measurements. Back on the 21st. of Novemeber I took the last Idaparx I had and went to the pharmacy for a refill. Instead I was presented with Indocyl Combi – supposedly a generic with the same ingredients. And my BP started rising: from 130/69 on the 21st to149/87non the 27th. No other changes.

I stopped taking the Indocyl on the 3rd of December and went back to local GP again on the 5th. I presented him with the daily readings. And we discussed these two general PB drugs which are supposedly identical. Clearly they are not and have different effects at least on me.

So a new script for Idaprex was issued specifically which i am again taking. And last night my BP was 138/79.

I wonder what this means. And is it of any general significance. Or just idiosyncratic of me and my body. Is there a pharmacist among us ?

PS I envy you your much better BP rate ! Maybe in time the fresh garlic, Vitamins C and D and E etc will make a difference.

Bill in Oz: I’ve been thinking about this a lot. My GP, as wonderful as she is, has no way to take resting BP properly. And it is resting BP that can give us information about risk, since our BP can vary quite dramatically depending on what we are doing, or recently have done, at the time it is tested. So why even bother? That’s the main reason I go twice a year. We’ve decided on once a year from now on, beginning in Summer. She stated that I don’t like my BP taken. I agreed, and she’s fine with that. What more could I ask in a physician, than to listen to the patient? I feel wonderful (for my age), sleep so peacefully I hardly have to make the bed in the morning, which I can’t do anyway until both cats are up.
For me it appears talking raises the systolic a lot (but not the diastolic). My doctor and I always have an animated conversation before she takes it. This time, before the nurse took it, I kept my trap shut (not an easy task!). In any case, I really don’t give a damn about tests. I’ll croak when I croak, and without disease symptoms, there is nothing to test anyway.

And what is NOT gloom-and-doom about this article? Man has bollixed up the balance of Nature in innumerable ways, often by introducing domestic creatures that can overrun the local species. He then labels the innocent victims — the predators– of his misguided effects as “the enemy”. He prides himself on how “smart” he is to “fight the enemy”. All the time, he is too stupid, shortsighted and ignorant to realize that (1) he is the enemy; (2) he has created the problem; (3) there are better ways to deal with the problem; and (4) he is a f—n idiot not to be able, after the hundreds of times he has done this, to develop the intelligence to learn from it. Far from being a story about how “successful” man is at eradicating “the enemy”, it is a story about how the morons among humans will continue to prevail in their quest to muck up the Earth, and to eventually ensure that the cockroaches inherit it. Of course, man is doing a great job of poisoning his own food supply and environs, thus exterminating his own kind, but it is not at all certain the he will accomplish species suicide before taking the rest of the species with him. Albert Einstein: “Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former. “ BTW, do you guys still have your “rabbit problem”?

Bill in Oz: It’s a vexing question, what to do about introduced pest species. No solution paints a pretty picture. What I wonder is this: Surely you have carrion eaters in Australia. Does this poison rapidly degrade, so they are unaffected?

Gary. you wrote ” What I wonder is this: Surely you have carrion eaters in Australia. Does this poison rapidly degrade, so they are unaffected?”

Yes there are certainly carrion eaters and reptiles like Perentie Goanas & birds such as Wedge tail eagles, are present in the PIT lands…

The article does not specify the poison used. I suspect that it is what we call 1080. It is a very potent poison and causes a very painful death over a number of hours. Not good ! ( That’s personal experience from losing a dog to baits put out by a neighbouring farmer to kill foxes, )

But 1080 is a compound produced naturally by many native plant species in parts of Australia ( to deter grazers from eating them ? ) and in turn many many native species have evolved a capacity to deal with it. And being a natural compound, it does degrade gradually.

It is a difficult choice as the alternative is extinction or lots of unique species here in Australia. But one made decades ago by some here. An example is Dr John Walmsley who in the 1970’s bought land in SA and fenced it in such a way as to exclude cats and foxes and wild dogs ( electric fencing !) and released rare native species into the fence area. They survived and bred well.

Walmsley went around with. hat on his head made of cat skins. For his trouble some cat lovers started throwing lost cats over the fences into the reserved area. The issue still generates extreme passions here where I live.

Bill in Oz: It does here, too, raise passions. I am a cat lover, but I hate them murdering birds, for I feed them well. Non-native rodents, though, are pests, and I’m happy when they bring one in to play with and eat (they always eat nearly every part of healthy prey). Neutral on grasshoppers, which delight them no end. Most introduced species, though, have a benign effect on the ecosystem. Here in California there are native-plant Nazis who would get rid of all Eucalypts. They are beautiful, especially the majestic Sydney blue gum, well adapted to the climate here, and not pests in any way. I’m a native plant-lover myself, but there never was a “Golden Age” when ecosystems existed in a pristine form, and anyway, the extinction of native plants is due simply to human settlement, often inadvertent, and it is usually easy enough to recover them. Animals are a different story altogether. I approve of the removal of feral cats from sensitive areas. 1080 is nasty, though, so not sure about that.

Gary I too have mixed feelings about 1080. But I wonder what alternatives there are. I am not a cat lover and not often had them in my various homes. Thus there have always been native birds, skinks ( tiny native lizards ), etc around my homes and gardens. There are so many species here which are naive to cats and have not evolved to be wary around these major ambush predaters. Some folks put a small bell on their collar to warn birds of cats but it makes small difference.

Cats are not the only introduced pest animal. Rabbits have been a huge pest for the bush and farmers since the 1870’s. In the 1990’s CSIRO found and developed a new virus that killed rabbits 100%. But they were not allowed to introduce it due to pressure from animal lover groups. Then in 2000 the Calisi virus ‘escaped’ from it’s quarantine station here in SA. There was a huge outcry from animal lovers about a looming catastrophe.

Yes the rabbits dies in their tens of millions— all across the dry country of Australia; almost 100%. Farmers rejoiced as they could stop shooting and putting out baits. And then something even more remarkable happened. We had rare Summer rains & literally billions of native plants ( many very very rare ) germinated. The rabbits had been eating out the new shoots previously for generations. But with rabbits gone they could grow.

Carp are also a huge fish pest here displacing the most native fish species and disrupting the habitat. Again introduced in our rivers & lakes by people ( European migrants ? ) deliberately in the past 50 odd years.
The Australian government.has been funding a research program to get rid of carp. And a remarkable virus has been found which affects only carp. and does so 100%. But carp lovers are up in arms about it warning the water ways will collapse from the millions of dead carp in the water….I say bring the ‘Carpaggedden’ on – the sooner the better.

I am amused at your reference to “plant Nazis”. I call them plant fascists’ but I mean exactly the same thing. There is a huge argument here over ‘introduced’ plants and native & ‘indigenous’ plants.

Some plants are exotic here and benign : Fruit trees like apples, pears nashis, white sapotes, stone fruits etc.. And then there are others which have become invasive here like blackberries wild roses, kikuyu grass.
And there are others which garden loving people plant I think mistakenly. In the past 2-3 months I have removed 4 big Cyprus trees which were growing tall and wide & shading everything and my neighbours garden; they were also Summer time fire bombs as flamable as Eucalypts. It was a huge job removing them but worth it. This past week I have been nibbling away at the last one in our backyard. Cutting away the branches and chipping them up.And letting in the sun ! All good work for my heart !

By the way there are over 900 species of Eucalypts. Many are fire prone. Some are not. Sydney Blue Gums are fire prone but are widely grown here as a plantation timber.

Totally agree with the removal, by whatever means, of introduced species. The cane toad should be an interesting one. At least that one poisons cats and dogs, the problem is it poisons everything else too.

Bill in Oz: Thank you for your detailed comment. I was well aware of the havoc rabbits wreaked in Australia, but didn’t know they were entirely gone. What a blessing for all. In Florida there is a plague of introduced Burmese pythons. They’ve imported snake hunters from India, with some success. The sugar industry in that state, though, is a far greater plague to the ecosystem, but they have immense political power, the pythons not so much.

Well, where do I start? I won’t point out that “murder” is an anthropomorphic, emotionally charged word, because I am sure you are equally concerned with the poor little rodents your cats “murder”. Let’s start with the birds: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/07/songbird-migration/franzen-text . Homo sapiens would have been much more aptly named “Homo hypocriticalis”.

Then, let’s note that many other animals than cats can be destructive to wildlife and the environment. My duck flock (and neighboring farmers’ poultry) was “murdered” by an irresponsible neighbor’s hunting dog, whom he let run loose. LEO said I was within my rights to shoot the dog. I didn’t blame the dog. Too bad, even in our gun-crazy US, it was not within my rights to shoot the owner.

When I lived and farmed in Western Kansas, all the ranchers and farmers carried shotguns in their pickup trucks to shoot farm dogs that strayed and might spook cattle/sheep/goats. Because I am also a “dog person” (I was training 4H kids and their dogs for agility/obedience events at the time), I was saddened that so many good-natured, beautiful dogs died agonizing deaths because of their irresponsible owners. If one’s cats are “murdering” birds, if one’s dogs are decimating the neighbor’s poultry, if one’s cats/dogs “get themselves pregnant”, if one’s livestock is destroying the topsoil and polluting the creeks with their poop, it is not the fault of the animals; it is the fault of the irresponsible, ignorant owners. The animals suffer due to human stupidity. And please, do not waste my time and strain my scientific skepticism speaking of “instinct”.

What does all this have to do with CVD and this blog? There is actually a connection — it is the general human failure to accept personal responsibility. While diet, genetics, and other factors (most of which we can control), affect whether we get sick, my experience and my personal research support Dr. K’s evidence-based conclusion that our response to stress is likely paramount. We cannot stop life from throwing stressors at us, but we can control how we respond. Yes, we can, regardless of what some commenters have said in the past. For members of this blog, now that we know the various risk factors that might dispose us to CVD and other ailments, we are empowered to take the reins and redirect our lives in a more healthful direction.

And now, if you’ll excuse me, a ranching family of my acquaintance has thoughtfully “murdered” one of their cows. Barbarian that I am, I will eat part of the victim’s remains, and toast his/her departed soul with a glass of 2012 Petit Verdot.

annielaurie: I fully agree with almost everything you have said. I was using murder in an ironic fashion. Nor do I trust National Geographic any longer. It is a Murdoch publication now. I subscribed for 34 years. I also enjoy eating the cows my farmer slaughters. He manages to get them beautifully riddled with fat on grass alone, although it seems a fall slaughter is better in this regard than spring. I do not mourn for the rodents, nor for the snails and slugs I murder, nor for the weeds I pull in the garden each day. Such is the circle of life. Everything has to eat something else to make a living. I am quite fond of birds, but against confining cats. The National Geographic figure was simply pulled out of a hat, like one of Australia’s deceased rabbits.

Gary, before you rejoice over your low blood pressure, consider this item from Richard Lehman:

BP falls in decade before death
From about 40 onwards, most of us start thinking about death. Now that I am 67, I’m almost certainly going to die within a decade, or maybe two, and perhaps I should be looking for the warning signs. They are not quite what you might expect. I am male, and balding. That is always bad. I am a bit fat. That is good. My blood glucose is at the top end of normal. That too is associated with increased life expectancy at my age and in my social group. My blood pressure is down on what it used to be. Now that is really bad, according to this latest study based on repeated individual BP measurements in the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Mean SBP and DBP decreased for more than a decade before death in patients dying at 60 years and older. These BP decreases are not simply attributable to age, treatment of hypertension, or better survival without hypertension.” Ah well. — http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2017/12/18/richard-lehmans-journal-review-18-december-2017/

Martin Back: Yes, that is a consideration. My attitude is, to hell with all tests. If I get symptoms of something, tests might be warranted. Did you read the CardioBrief post about the coming tsunami of ECG’S? Apparently young, fit people are buying and wearing some new-fangled gizmo’s which give cardiac function information. More tests and more diagnoses. What do you bet these tech people have pharma stock in their portfolio?

annielaurie98524, You seem to be suggesting that cats did not willingly go to Australia ( they were conscripted perhaps ? ) so there should be no control of their feral descendants to prevent them preying on naive native species to extinction.

Frankly that is a bizarre..

Feral cats are now a major predator on native Australian wildlife : marsupials, placental mammals, lizards, reptiles and birds. And these are unique to Australia. And irreplaceable.

So I totally support efforts to eliminate feral cats in Australia. As I do efforts to eliminate feral rabbits and goats and foxes and carp. etc.

It’s part of the effort to clean up the fuckups of earlier generations.

But this is hugely off topic and Dr K may wish to not wish to have this continue and be a major distraction to the CVD issue.. So I will not be commenting on this more.

You find MY comment curious, and you are proposing that the ancestors of feral cats emigrated willingly? And your rabbits — they also booked passage on ships that were Australia-bound? I don’t even think Beatrix Potter would go there.

Ummm, I won’t even ask what your statement means. All of the invasive species problems in the world have been caused by misguided and/or careless humans. Other creatures, from cats to kudzu, did not decide to relocate. The environmental destruction that such species may cause is entirely due to human stupidity. The use of poisons and many other methods said careless humans employ to deal with their mistakes cause further environmental destruction. But I do have to ask, if you consider the topic of invasive species “Off-subject”, why did you initiate the discussion?

I have tried to follow all 42 since you started. Have not always followed completely because I am a dumb ass…on the subject… But this one goes along way to connect the dots, even the strongest bridge will give way under prolonged strain.
Thanks!

Trying hard to make this fit into the topic. May a misfired attempt at relaxation? Apparently, there is a rare allergic reaction to quinine which wreaks havoc with endothelial lining in every part of the body. I wonder what if this could be present in everybody at a much lower level.

You are spot on! One of our regular commenters (sorry, I can’t remember who) in a previous blog suggested the excellent book “Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health” by Dr. H. Gilbert Welch. I got it from my library and couldn’t put it down until I finished it. I copied several of Dr. Welch’s charts for reference (good ammunition for arguments with your own docs). Very highly recommended to anyone considering more testing to see if he or she is “sick” or “healthy” — read the book first! BTW, I have to echo the frustration with wordpress expressed by other commenters on previous blogs. It is a real PITA!

You can do it through Blue Horizon but you will have to administer your own glucose and buy 5 insulin tests totaling about £700
In Portugal the insulin test is 40 euros so I think it can be done there much cheaper. Des anyone know whether a certain type or make of glucose is important or will any do. I think it was 100mg, correct me if I am wrong, or was it 100g

On the Australian Aboriginal question it is probably hard to sort out all the factors because they are in general living in a society which has disrupted their traditional way of living. There is probably a bias against those still living traditionally if they don’t have easy access to antibiotics which I suspect has increased life expectancy in general around the world. Certainly done wonders for me with double pneumonia at age 7 and at least one seriously infected insect bite (red track up the arm) more recently.

For the New Zealand Maori I think that there is possibly at least one genetically linked population which could be used for comparison, as they are held to be migrant Polynesian so their source population pre-migration could provide a basis for comparison. Assuming there is anywhere which has not been Westernised.

Fascinating Some work in the 1970’s by a German veterinary professor showed that over consumption carbohydrates by ALL warm Blooded animals induced stress (Strain as you define it) on their body system see My Live without Bread Dr Wolfgang Lutz at 90 by Valerie Bracken

I always imagine the body being subjected to incessant ‘attack’ – bacteria, viruses, toxins, pollution. How well the body deals with these attacks is compromised by a body being under significant psychological stress. So being under high psychological stress leaves you more susceptible to these ‘attacks’.

Mr Chris: Some very nasty people live a long time (Ancel Keys comes to mind). But, being nice to people has to have a positive effect on mortality risk because it is bound to improve social connections. As for contentment, I think it’s over-rated. I feel best when I am reaching beyond my grasp. I think a feeling of being in control is more likely to reduce stress/strain, regardless of other circumstances. A final word on food: Remember the placebo effect, and the power of sincere religious belief.

I am sorry to hear about your loss and other problems, and I think we are all grateful that nevertheless you managed to find the time each day to review and publish all the comments – nearly 900 on your previous blog!

It would be interesting to know if the effect of strain operates at all stages of CVD, or just in the plaque formation phase. Logic says it would only operate at the stage of inflaming the arteries and plaque formation, but I wonder if someone with dangerous levels of plaque is still more likely to live longer if he feels happy and fulfilled.

Just thinking of my own history, got told Ive got AF (stressfull) then added high LDL so changed to LC diet. Other testing showed poor liver function and the AF drugs were stressing my kidneys (add more stress), then tested for FH (more stress) had a CAC test which came back high (even more stress). Doctors pushing for Statins, Internet makes me say no (Add more stress). Like many I guess, I am left wondering what the heck to do for the best. which to be honest is stressful.
In the end, does Stress cause CVD or does anyone on the CVD/CAD path get given the stress as a bonus.
Perhaps in the end, do we just hang the sense of it all in the hope that we croak quickly doing something we enjoy (RIP Golfer).

Stressors can be positive, or negative, and can also be both – or neither, depending on the individual, and how the individual is feeling at the time. It is the resultant strain on the system that matters. A degree of strain is required for optimum health. Excessive strain, and the systems begin to break down.

Dr. K, stress/strain is a big factor in heart disease as you have presented. The strain part relates to how the brain copes with a situation. Therefore having a healthy brain is important. Having recently discovered the gut/brain axis, I am now aware of the importance of a healthy gut microbiome. Good gut bugs leads to good brain function that can better cope with stress.

I am leery of WHO or any WORLD organization and globalization effort. If agribusiness is behind the organizations then the future does not look good, i.e. roundup and GMO’s like corn, soy and many more to come. Studies by WHO that stress is a killer could be a red herring.

“Many diseases and conditions are currently on the rise in step with glyphosate usage in agriculture, particularly on GM crops of corn and soy. These include autism, AD, PD, anxiety disorder, osteoporosis, inflammatory bowel disease, renal lithiasis, osteomalacia, cholestasis, thyroid dysfunction, and infertility. All of these conditions can be substantially explained by the dysregulation of Mn utilization in the body due to glyphosate.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3945755/
“Conclusion
Celiac disease is a complex and multifactorial condition associated with gluten intolerance and a higher risk to thyroid disease, cancer and kidney disease, and there is also an increased risk to infertility and birth defects in children born to celiac mothers. While the principal diagnostic is autoantibodies to tissue transglutaminase, celiac disease is associated with a spectrum of other pathologies such as deficiencies in iron, vitamin D3, molybdenum, selenium, and cobalamin, an overgrowth of pathogens in the gut at the expense of beneficial biota, impaired serotonin signaling, and increased synthesis of toxic metabolites like p-Cresol and indole-3-acetic acid. In this paper, we have systematically shown how all of these features of celiac disease can be explained by glyphosate’s known properties. These include (1) disrupting the shikimate pathway, (2) altering the balance between pathogens and beneficial biota in the gut, (3) chelating transition metals, as well as sulfur and selenium, and (4) inhibiting cytochrome P450 enzymes. We argue that a key system-wide pathology in celiac disease is impaired sulfate supply to the tissues, and that this is also a key component of glyphosate’s toxicity to humans.”

Careful, Samsel and Senneff are out on a crusade. I’d really like to see glyphosate banned or restricted because there are serious studies out there that indicate it is not harmless, but these two are going overboard.

In the abstract, they made it seem like a fact that autism is caused by mitochondrial disorders, when this is really still very much an oddball theory.

“we discuss selected diseases associated with increased intestinal permeability such as critically illness, inflammatory bowel diseases, celiac disease, food allergy, irritable bowel syndrome, and – more recently recognized – obesity and metabolic diseases. All these diseases are characterized by inflammation that might be triggered by the translocation of luminal components into the host. In summary, intestinal permeability, which is a feature of intestinal barrier function, is increasingly recognized as being of relevance for health and disease, and therefore, this topic warrants more attention.”

And I have no argument with this paper. The authors are all properly qualified and they don’t mention glyphosate even once :). This doesn’t mean you cannot raise valid points if your degree is in a different field (see Taubes, Cummins, Seyfried, Dobromylskyj, Minger), but you are kind of under observation and have to make sure to cross your ts and dot your is. Samsel and Senneff are different in that they shoot at everything that moves, throw some carpet bombs to be on the safe side and have a questionable way of computing the trajectory. They are doing their cause a disservice.

Congratulations Dr K. You have been all around the houses, giving fair airing and recognition to a load of influences, and are able to retain your original premise – the obviously correct one. Everyone should read this blog issue.

With respect, I would suggest a paradigm that transcends “mind/body”. It literally all in your head, not as a character flaw, but chemically and neuroplasticity wise. When we can finally see beyond the mythical black box, doing more than labellly and classification of subjective symptoms, then the answers may become more clear.

Hmm, so if a hated job relates to 6X more heart attacks then I wonder how many times does that hateful job increase increase the risk of cancer? I’ve hated my job for years while constantly trying to talk myself down about it and tell myself I can hang in there ,don’t have to continue much longer (I’m 59 and could retire at 62).

Well, I guess I couldn’t quite hang in there, although a huge hot blowout with a relative I tried to help and whose existence I now try not to recall was the strain that broke the camel’s back I think. Before I was able to get her out of my house I had begun to feel emotionally desperate, like the situation was killing me.

Therefore, while pursuing several alternative treatments, I am working diligently to clear out, resolve, dissolve and release all past negative events. I quit my job and this makes me very happy! I’ve truly made some positive emotional changes. Life is good, I adore my husband, and we love where we live in the country.

I personally think in my case that taking on too many burdens was a main cause, plus probably hormonal imbalance (also exacerbated by stress!).

Ha, ha, and I met the oncologist last Thursday, who said to me she was about to take my anxiety down several notches. I thought, Oh, good, she’s got some good news! Here’s the good news: I have a 50% chance of being alive in 5 years WITH chemo and some nasty pill she wants me to take for 5 years. But the biggest percentage chance of living – 34% – comes from doing…

NOTHING. I get about 10% each for 6 months of miserable chemo, possibly radiation, and then the pill gives another 10%. My husband was shocked.

So Goran, like you, I’m saying thanks but no thanks. I don’t know the odds on the alternative treatments, but I’m actually pretty sure they’re better than that.

You may go for alternative treatments of cancer but you have to do your homework. Statistics does not favor the “school medicine” approach.

I would myself try an array of “supplements”; all without side effects. One of those supplements is colloidal silver which looks promising bu is truly “hated” and ridiculed by Big Pharma from the bottom of their hearts. But since you can drink a tank load without being poisoned it doesn’t hurt to try. You coludn’t say that of chemo.

Cancer love high blood glucose and a very strict LCHF, i.e. a ketogenic diet, has a strong scientific support and should be the baseline to my opinion.

If I got a cancer diagnose I would wait awhile before letting the “knifes go” during which time I would go very “hard” on alternatives and check up if the cancer has gone in remission.

By all means, the keto diet is worth trying for cancer patients. Dr. Thomas Seyfried has achieved some encouraging results with intransigent cancers using the keto diet as an adjunct treatment. He has even had success with glioblastoma, which killed my husband 12 years ago. The keto studies came too late for him (and I’m sure the sugary formula they tube fed him didn’t help). You might check out Seyfried’s book “Cancer as a Metabolic Disease”, and also “Tripping Over the Truth” by Christofferson and D’Agostino, which chronicles the metabolic approach to cancer.

I recommended Tripping Over the Truth to a friend of mine who has been diagnosed with stomach cancer. She has had traditional treatment but also has adopted a whole food plant based Keto style approach and has had a reduction in cancer readings. It could be the diet, could be that she has packed in work or perhaps the chemo.

Anna, It takes some bravery to manage to think at all when faced with a conversation of that sort – good for you!

If I were in your position I think I’d make the same choice as you have, and also try to get on an LCHF regime of some sort. I’d also try to find some truly alternative therapy with a good reputation, and give that a chance too.

When I gave up statins, my doctor asked me if I still wanted my cholesterol testing, and I said I didn’t. Testing is obviously stressful, and if it won’t give you any useful information, I’d consider giving that up too.

If you hate your job, perhaps it would also help to leave it – provided you will have plenty of things to occupy your mind.

Anna
As a breast cancer survivor of at least 18 years (misdiagnosed for 5 years), I agree with you about stress and overburdening – though we were perhaps genetically susceptible.
Chemo only helps aggressive cancers (the cells have to be dividing to be killed). Since your cells are oestrogen positive you will not be in that category. I was ignorant enough to begin a very stressful course of chemo but stopped after 2 (supposed to have 8). I regret having any.
At 59 you should have reduced oestrogen now anyway. We need some. It’s no picnic having so little. And hard on bones, etc. I never went down your dairy-free approach (your previous posting). I eat masses of dairy in all forms.
I did have two mastectomies. Now I can be Marilyn Munro one day and Twiggy the next!
I am so pleased you have the courage to see things clearly. You have obviously been asking the right questions where most women are all too acquiescent. You are so right. Never let people who don’t think weaken your resolve.

The first part of your trip to heart disease is the story of the last 15 years of my life and led me to hypothyroidism, cortisol unusualness (saliva testing) – I believe! It is sadly impossible to get my own GP to agree or to treat me, so I have to treat myself.

However, quite what I should do about chronic stress is harder to get my head around. I can’t unbecome a single parent, I can’t magically fix my money worries (as I already work full-time), I can’t make my eldest not be ASD, nor can I make my elderly widowed mother, any less frail. I do what I can (got to the gym, eat well), but feel sure it isn’t enough and then this adds to my worries/stress/strain.

How, as a society, we address the stress/strain that so many people are under is something I can’t quite imagine.

Nigella, your heartfelt description shows an actual, practical example of my understanding of stress/strain. We cannot truly measure the combined ( and infinite) strains of life on body and soul. I suppose measuring cortisol levels could be a solution, but that would depend on a compliant GP; but what then? I think we can make a pretty accurate assumption that your life circumstances cause stress/strain. So…..I wish you well in managing your lot in life, which can’t be at all easy…..what I do think, is that no pills can possibly help the situation.
Maybe I could be classed as a defeatist, but after being ruled by Big Pharma for many years, I can only say that pills were not the answer to any of my physical problems, and, indeed, added to them. As to the psychological stresses that life chucks at us, then maybe religion could help…( e.g. calming meditation etc)..and that is coming from me as an atheist!

TS,
Thank you for writing and I would love to know more. I didn’t give up dairy till a month ago. I didn’t want to hear it. I misdiagnosed *myself* for many months, thinking it was inflammatory breast cancer but it wasn’t, it was just regular. I’m using bioidentical progesterone. After I knew what I had, it focused my research better, which is what convinced me to give up dairy. So while I was doing some alternative treatments, it would have been better if I had known the hormonal aspects.

The issue of Australian Aborigines was a big distraction for me..Time for me to return my attention to the main point of this post : causes of CVD.
I have just read the post again & especially the last 2 paragraphs.
“Chronic stress → dysfunction of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis (HPA-axis) → sympathetic overdrive + raised stress hormones → metabolic syndrome (raised BP, raised blood sugar, raised clotting factors, raised cortisol, raised all sorts of things) → endothelial damage + increased blood clotting → plaque formation and death from acute clot formation.

And if you want to close this loop further, stress also increases LDL levels, in some studies by over 60%5. So, when you see raised LDL, in association with increased CVD, it is not the LDL causing the CVD. It is stress, causing both.”

Such clarity ! Thank you Dr K.

Now this is real & important to me; and I suspect to all who live here. So what next ? For those who are not afflicted the issue is “How to prevent chronic stress”.

For those already afflicted the issue is what measures help to reverse the impact of this chronic stress ?

I am wondering how this fits in with particular Nordic country, Denmark I think, who during the WW2 had their main food source confiscated by the Nazi occupation. One would have thought that both these factors would have created enormous stress and yet their heart attack rates plummeted only to return after the war ended. Does this suggest that stress can play a part but its trumped by food ?

sartersig
Read somewhere that by confiscating cattle, wheat, and sugar the people were forced to eat more fish, veggies and berries. Starvation can be beneficial if not carried to extremes.

Another paradox:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18849101
Doctors’ strikes and mortality: a review.
“”A paradoxical pattern has been suggested in the literature on doctors’ strikes: when health workers go on strike, mortality stays level or decreases.

Well Smatersig there were some very very remarkable things that happened during this time. First the King of Denmark stayed in Denmark during the occupation and remained a focus of Danish nationality and symbol of resistance to the Nazi.
Examples : When the Nazis wanted to round up all Danish Jews, the king of Denmark rode out around Copenhagen on his horse wearing a yellow Jewish star. Later on in WW2 as the Nazis were preparing to seize and send Jews to the gas chambers virtually all them were assisted by Danish citizens to cross the water to Sweden.

The stresses of war can be damaging but if people feel that their national leadership are in it with them and leading them well in a good cause, I suspect that the effects are lesoned.

Also I imagine that having a closely related Nordic but neutral country so close also helped the Danish people at this time. I wonder if Goran can comment here ?

And as for foods..Denmark has never been a country to grow much grain crops. Cattle, for meat or dairy and fishing were the mainstays with the produce from people’s Summer gardens.

@ Smatersig. What does not convince you ? I offered three different possible explanations for the the CVD in Denmark during WW2.

By the way, I think you have confused your histories. It was the Netherlands which suffered from mass starvation in 1944-45 due to the NAZIS preventing food supplies being transported around the country by rail. The food was needed because so many low lying farm areas were flooded by the Dutch resistance to hamper German capacity to fight the Allies.

Smartersig, that link is just vegan/vegetarian propaganda. And once again it’s an instanse of bending the facts to fit somebody’s desire to propagandise.

The Norwegan diet like the Danish, was based on what foods were naturally available. The climate is too cold to allow significant grain growing. Their diet was based on fish, eggs and dairy foods from cattle.

I suspect that it was the inability to import sugar and tobacco during WW2 which lowered the CVD rate. And both of these are plant sourced commodities.

I looked at Wikipedia re Norway Smatersig… Ummmm ? Sorry it was not Norway that starved at the end of WW2. There was major economic dislocation and things were grim, but no starvation.

“Combined with a general drop in productivity, Norwegians were quickly confronted with scarcity of basic commodities, including food. There was a real risk of famine. Many, if not most, Norwegians started growing their own crops and keeping their own livestock. City parks were divided among inhabitants, who grew potatoes, cabbage, and other hardy vegetables. People kept pigs, rabbits, chicken and other poultry in their houses and out-buildings. Fishing and hunting became more widespread. Gray and black market provided for flow of goods. Norwegians also learned to use ersatz products for a wide variety of purposes, ranging from fuel to coffee, tea, and tobacco.”

It’s Norway, and there are so many interesting confounds in that story that I would highly recommend Denise Minger’s thoughtful work on this.

FTL: …And now that I’ve stolen a big chunk of your day yapping about war-time Norway, I’ll add a warning that everything above may be moot. The apparent decline in cardiovascular disease could easily be confounded by the major rise in infectious disease that happened during the war, including a full doubling of pneumonia deaths. Just because cardiovascular disease mortality drops doesn’t prove cardiovascular disease itself has truly declined. Sometimes, it just means faster-acting diseases are snatching lives before heart attacks or strokes have a chance to claim their victims.

Stress causes rise in blood glucose and then insulin is secreted to bring level down to normal. This would apply to insulin sensitive people. The problem is with stress plus diabetes, pre- diabetes , and pre- pre- diabetes. Chronic elevation of blood glucose causes a lot of problems. Diet to the rescue.

I used to react as if I was under high levels of stress when I was actually under low levels, or none. Now I react to stress “normally”.

Or on the other hand, according to one doctor, I made up all my symptoms and have finally chosen to stop making them up. Your choice.

I also wonder how much of the increased CVD risk with diabetes is based on how it is (not) treated.

“You made yourself diabetic by being fat and lazy and eating too much meat and fat. You must eat a high carb low fat diet but your diabetes IS going to progress and there IS nothing you can do about it. You will have to take more and more pills and you WILL be on insulin in a few years. You will lose your feet, go blind and need dialysis. Don’t even think of testing your blood, you will damage your fingers and then you won’t be able to read braille when you go blind” (true statement made by “diabetes nurse”) “and don’t read what those cranks on the internet say.”

OK a potpourri of bad information produced by clueless doctors and especially nurses and dieticians, probably no-one gets it all at once as I just presented it, But feeds into the stress and produces the expected outcomes.

All I can say from my brand new perspective in which I am living on death row, i.e., the reality of the cancer and its capacity to kill me are nearly always at least in the background of my mind, and in my research seeing how much stress is involved, and then doing the soul searching to find out what is specific to me and my history, and how to resolve it, release it and let it go, that all those damned cliches are absolutely right. Reacting to life’s vicissitudes is foolish, letting worries get to you is foolish, allowing ANY resentments to interfere in the love you express, allowing any unforgiven hurts to mar you inner landscape – what did you think you have, endless time? The time to take care of this stuff is today.

I recently assisted a sister in law who succumbed to an aggressive brain cancer and was given the “standard treatment” and to no avail. She was not the least interested in alternatives. What disgusted me was the sugary (50 %) “nutritious” drinks the health care supplied her with in abundance – just food for the cancer!

Also my brother was recently hit by cancer and has now had two comprehensive tumor operations. He is though open for “alternatives” and after having turned very suspicious towards what the “medicine men” offer him. I gave him a 5 liter can of colloidal silver and from which he is now taking regular shots everyday. We’ll see how it works out. He is for sure in a very stressed state having lost his wife and now worried if the cancer will strike back.

Maybe it would help to remember that we are all ‘on death row’. We all have to face the fact that we may die before long, and will definitely die eventually. Maybe I am just quirky, but I found that thought helped when I was worrying about whether to go on trying to take statins and whether to break with the dogma of eating very little saturated fat. It make me realise that it was better to enjoy life, rather than take drugs that make you ill, but might extend your life.

I acknowledged thai with the word ‘perhaps’. Are we all to believe that the expected increase in stress related HD due to war, loss of food, occupation etc can not just be dampened down but reversed from its previous war rate. Did Dean Ornish, Esseltyn and Pritkin get such favourable results because they chose subjects who were subjects ?

Thanks Randal. Nice to be able to read a complete report of new ( 2017 ) cutting edge that IS NOT paywalled. Unlike the one above from 2006 on MK9 in Jarsberg & Gouda cheese which 11 years later is till expensively paywalled. Bah !!

“Urea and ammonia in the brain are metabolic breakdown products of protein. Urea is more commonly known as a compound which is excreted from the body in urine. If urea and ammonia build up in the body because the kidneys are unable to eliminate them, for example, serious symptoms can result.”

From the above, isn’t it at least possible that the rise in urea levels simply indicates an excessive breakdown of proteins, which is involved in the mechanism of dementia?

Urea is such a simple, soluble molecule – it seems hard to believe it could build up long-term anywhere in the body!

Someone asked,
“Feeling in control is whole can of worms. I suppose someone does not feel in control if his management or company policy force him to do things he does not like.”

This is ONE of the reasons I hated my job.
+++++++++++++
Smartersig,

You said, “Sorry Bill but that does not convince me, perhaps its my total disregard for the royalty but even allowing for that it would not be a theory that I could buy into.”

As an American, I find the very idea of royalty quite absurd and it holds no magic for me (although in my middle age it occurs to me that the main difference between democracy and a monarchy is that you DO get the occasional good king or queen). Nonetheless, I must comment that because of your prejudice you were not able to entertain a very plausible theory, which is that in difficult times it might make quite a difference to people if they feel that they have viable and ethical leaders who are leading by example and who join in their struggles. It might be just a tad silly of you to be sure that just because some poor sot happens to be a king that he cannot possibly be a good influence.

I think I said ‘perhaps’ thus acknowledging that my thoughts on royalty may effect my view. I dont think my view however is silly, I am just viewing the theory for what it is, a long shot with no underlying evidence. At best it might reduce the stress slightly but would it have the effect of completely reversing the expected outcome or are we suggesting that the real reason for heart disease is poor leadership or a lack of monarchy 🙂

Well now, I know a couple of monarchists who might like to add that to their list!
I don’t think it is sufficient by itself, but I also don’t think it is a log shot for people to feel less stressed and less isolated with a leader who goes out and makes a fine example of himself.

Dr K I have been mulling over the implications of your stress & strain hypothesis.

Consider if CVD is a conseqience of work related stress, then this has major implications for such institutions who offer Work Cover insurance…

Here in Oz a heart attack is seen simply as a medical issue. So if a worker has a heart attack he uses his/her sick leave if any is available. And when that runs out it’s either go back to work or go on low level social security. Burt Work Cover payments are tied to the income level while at work. Interesting !!

Bill in Oz: I. too. have been giving Dr. Kendrick’s hypothesis a great deal of thought. Both of my careers, in heavy construction, then in education, offered me a great deal of autonomy. Given a task, it was up to me to figure out how to complete it. Those for whom I worked placed their trust in me, after a brief period of monitoring. I was successful most of the time, although, like everyone I sometimes screwed up, sometimes royally. I wonder what relationship this has to my complete lack of CVD symptoms. From childhood it was always important to me to be trusted. I this modern age it seems trust has gone the way of the dodo. I certainly no longer trust any of our governmental institutions, nor science and medicine much of the time. I revere science, and have since the days of Sputnik and the space race, but it seems to have largely been captured by commercial interests, as has much of medicine and all of politics and media. Sometimes it seems as if the Axis powers, defeated on three continents at vast cost, actually won, as control of our lives has become increasingly draconian.

Gary, I cannot make an informed reply as you live in the USA and I live in Australia. The social, economic & political circumstances are different.
Part of my own working career was in Education. But it was subject to enormous PC controls about what could be taught, said or even reported in student reports. I gave that away as too exhausting…

I then spent 26 years involved in organic farming..And that was a hugely liberating except when it came to the ‘organic certification’ process..This evolved into a ‘tick a box ‘ process to satisfy office based bureaucrats.. And that is where organics stands now world wide : it’s not a matter of how a farmer cares for land, crops and livestock. It all a matter of what is written down in endless ‘recording’ ……

Bill in Oz: I’ve heard that, too, from other farmers. That the certification process is too expensive. They nevertheless take proper care of their soil, and I buy from them, regardless of any certificate.

So do I Gary. But keep in mind that some farmers who don’t have that piece of paper are caring just as much for the land and the environment. Buying local through farmers markets is one way of effectively doing this. But you know all this already I suspect.

Mr Chris, I confess I do not know very much about organic farming in Sweden or Germany…They are countries with different climates, different ecologies, different hemisphere different , cultures….

And by the way, it is clear to me that many European and American organic ‘experts’ often come here but have little understanding of organics in Australia, operating as it does in the southern hemisphere with our own unique climates, unique ecologies and dare I say ‘culture’ ?

Goran, that’s an interesting article on Dr Mercola’s website. Thanks for pointing it out to me.

However I am really glad that at least here in Australia we do not have a government run organic certification scheme. Rather each certification body ( there are 7 ) has developed it’s own organic standard and these are ‘harmonised’ via a national committee made up by representatives from all these bodies. And that includes ‘Demeter’, the Bio-dynamic certification body.
Curiously this process is not adequate for many other countries so for the purpose of ‘exporting’ Australian organic produce, there is also a government established & chaired organics committee with a membership drawn from the certification bodies. This ‘government’ body endorses the organic standards in so far as they apply to organic certified exports. And all growers have the choice of deciding if they want or need this ad on certification.

As a consequence here in Oz our organic standards and bodies are not dominated by government bureaucrats nor by appointees representing the vested interests of major corporations. I wish I could say that this happened as a result of planning & determination. But that would be a lie. For years organic farming leaders implored government to get involved and establish a government controlled Australian National standard’ scheme.

Fortunately the government decided not to do this. Why ? They were under pressure from the non organic farming sector who thought that any such organic scheme would disadvantage them.

Bugger me, the irony ! Our “conventional” opponents turned out to be doing the Australian organic movement a huge favor !
So..Just to be clear & blunt and IN CAPS SO AS TO shout it out :
Here in Oz we :
1 : DO NOT PERMIT AS PART OF ORGANICS ANY FEEDLOT TYPE OPERATION WITH LIVESTOCK.. NOT EVEN A SHORT TERM ‘FOR WINTER’ TYPE FEEDLOT OPERATION. THIS INCLUDES BEEF CATTLE, DAIRY CATTLE, SHEEP, GOATS ETC.
2 WE DO NOT PERMIT AS PART OF ORGANICS ANY CAGE OR BARN TYPE OPERATION WITH POULTRY. AGAIN NOT EVEN FOR WINTER. THIS INCLUDES CHICKENS, DUCKS, GEESE ETC.
3 : HYDROPONIC GROWING OPERATIONS ARE EXCLUDED FROM ORGANIC CERTIFICATION
4 : ALL GROWING MUST TAKE PLACE USING SOIL AS THE GROWING MEDIUM. ( THERE IS AN EXCEPTION FOR THIS WITH SOME TYPES OF FUNGI. WHICH GROW NATURALLY IN NON SOIL MEDIA. )

I think New Zealand has a similar system and NZ organic standards are similar to Oz’s.

I say all this in praise of organic here.. Unfortunately the organic certification process has become excessively bureaucratised & expensive. Smaller growers cannot afford it. So yes I do buy uncertified farm produce from local growers who care for their land. But that’s an issue for another day.

Dr Goran: This is such a crucial issue. I get George Monbiot in my inbox, and sometimes he’s worth a read. Yesterday he quoted one of the global governance agencies as saying that we only have 60 years of soil left. I know ignorance is rampant in this world, but it has been decades since the organic/biodynamic movement and Alan Savory have taught us how to build and regenerate soil while increasing production and restoring water tables and watersheds at the same time. I have built as much as two inches of soil in parts of my garden over twenty five years, without even adding animals to the mix, and every raindrop which falls on it is absorbed, while anything more than a sprinkle runs right off my neighbor’s lawns. With proper management of the Earth’s arable land we could feed, and feed well, our current population and more to come. Why do politicians not know any of this? Do they go to special ignorance schools?

Unfortunately Gary, your own example has had no impact on your neighbour. So really it’s not hard to explain why politicians cannot do anything at a global level.

And remember, the human global population has increased in my lifetime from 2 billion to more than 7 billion. And all people eat. That’s an intensification of the cropping & grazing of the world’s land. Of course soil loss happens.

From 2004 -2015 I managed an organic farm here in South Australia. When I started there I wondered why the fences in parts of the 60 ha property were perched roughly 14 inches above the level of the adjoining paddocks.

Then I realised : the land had been misused and abused for generations by the previous owners – especially over grazed by cattle. And come our long hot Summers with hot dry winds, the top soil just blew away leaving less fertile sub soils. . So part of the job was rebuilding topsoil.

Bill in Oz: And the great tragedy is that grazers, properly managed, are the key to restoring the majority of arable land world wide, since these are grasslands, mostly degraded, and unsuitable for crops except on a small scale. Key to reversing desertification, to replenishing water tables and improving watershed health. Those grazers represent the most nutrient-dense food of all. Utterly impossible to feed the world’s population a vegetarian diet (not enough precipitation in grasslands). Nobody needs very much meat to derive sufficient nutrition for optimal health. We in the rich countries eat more than we need. But it would be best for the Earth and best for public health if everybody had access to occasional meat.

Dr. K – thanks once again, and I wish to express both sympathy for your recent experiences and appreciation for all the interesting work you do here.

I’d like to elaborate a little on the ideas of stress and strain in a literal sense. It might be useful. Random use of these terms is as annoying to me as the popular ideas about inflammation are to you!

Here it seems the sense of these words is Hookean i.e. ‘sic vis sic extensio’ in one form – as the force so the displacement. This is a description of the spring rule for a one dimensional spring and the normal view is that as you apply varying pressure across that spring then it moves proportionately. A one way process. But of course it is a two way process – moving the spring also applies a pressure to the thing doing the moving. And being linear or proportional there is no concept of damage or failure. Things just keep moving the harder you push or pull.

Stress, strain. What’s missing? The rate constant between them is missing. The specific relationship of them.

For three dimensional elastic solids ‘matter springs’ there are 6 possible pressures to apply and six related movements. While they are not usually all independent the possibility still exists that the six stresses are related to the six strains by 36 constants of proportionality.

Using the stress-strain idea to describe living organisms: of course there are many more than 6 stressors and more than six effects of them. But I think you can broaden the thought processes by sifting and sorting the stressors, and the proportionalities acting towards the various effects they cause.

Smartersig. In response to your stats on wheat, rice and sat fats….I am a sucker for the last thing I read which agrees with my own (thus anecdotal) experiences.
Well done for your work collecting all the data and sharing it with me/us. I am much obliged.
So, although we now agree that diet is likely to be a minor contributor to cardiac ill health, there is no excuse for us to ignore the information you have kindly shared with us.
It goes without saying that excessive consumption of refined wheat and sugar are deadly, whilst animal and vegetable saturated fats are just the job!
Quite honestly, do you think many people out there will follow such guidelines? but don’t let me discourage you, because you are perfectly right to publish your findings for those of us who have successfully done an about-turn with our ill-health issues, by incorporating LCHF into our lives.
Seasons Greetings to all readers, and special thanks to Dr Kendrick for this incredible blog.

The application of engineering/physics terms to the human condition can only be metaphorical. For each of the innumerable stressors you can name, there’d be a different “strain” response for each individual. ∞ We’ve got brains.

My father-in-law, a survivor of more horrific experiences in WW II than even he could remember used to admonish us with the advice: “Just let it roll off you like water off a duck’s back”. He was a model for this. He lived well and into his 90’s. I can remember his saying that to me and suddenly feel the tight constriction in my neck and jaw muscles over worry. Being aware of the tension allowed me, indeed, to let it go. Mostly. For a time.
It helps.

JDPatten, I love the notion of letting stress wash off you like water off a duck’s back & there is a fair amount of small stuff that you can just let go of. How do you let money worries, long-term illness, single-parenthood, bereavement, redundancy, divorce etc roll off you? They are persistent strains that linger and I suspect it is those that cause the issues, rather than a bad work meeting or a minor ding in the car – which can much more easily be let go of.

Hi Nigella
Feathers are what protect ducks from water. I understand that ducks oil their feathers to make them waterproof. In human terms equating water to stress this would mean looking after your health. Some water might still get through.

Nigella,
My father-in-law had another thing he would say: “It’s only money. It’s not your life.”
I know, for some it can seem that way. He was able to stay on top of things.
A great deal of how Life turns out for you depends on how you approach it.

Interesting that recommendations for positive thinking come through – as though I may not be! Through the work I do, I meet people who have through no fault of their own, experienced the most awful starts in life and are often still struggling. It would take a braver woman than me to suggest that it was their attitude that had led to their stress, or say to them “its only money” or perhaps they need to take better care of their health.

Most of us on here are educated sufficiently enough to understand Dr Kendrick’s posts and even comment upon them, which probably suggests we belong to socio-economic groups who probably can shrug and say “its only money” when we have to pay for some roofing to be done, bodywork on the car or a new washing machine. What about all the people who can’t even pay their rent, face eviction, are on zero hours contracts, are homeless or were born to dysfunctional parents and have not had the benefits of loving families and economic security? These are the folk who die young, who are subject to chronic stress and strain, for them that is their life!!!!

Nigella,
I understand what you’re saying and I see your point.
There are some of us, though, that can approach all aspects of life with a positive can-do attitude.
These are the people that — no matter their challenges — wind up healthy and successful.
F-I-L again: I could present a list of the mind-boggling things he endured (Interested? It’s lengthy.) that would make your list above pale.
Maybe he was just built to be positive. I know I find it a challenge.

I suspect you might be an engineer like myself due to your reference to Hook regarding the connection between stress and strain.

This concept is at the base of my own discipline of material science. We teach that when stress increases the strain follows suit, proportionally (Hook’s law). This is a process that can be reversed as long as the you are in the elastic region. Take away the stress and the strain disappears. Though when “overstressing” your material it will yield and then the strain (yes – truly strain) turns irreversible and some damage to the material will be permanent.

I agree with you that one may use this concept metaphorically in medicine on our bodies. The concept though brings an extreme oversimplification along since there are here basically only two parameters (stress and strain) in the simplest proportional functionality while our own physiology involves more than 20 000 parameters interacting with one-another in patterns poorly understood. Bring social reality into this picture and I, for one, am lost.

This is also the reason why I have such great difficulties with medical experts from the establishment (eg. my latest cardiologist) who categorically claim they KNOW. This arrogance is based on the religious dogmas which have been permeating medicine since eternal time.

Hi Göran, I was an engineering/physics student long long ago but I still use materials science in my work.

It is of course all metaphorical and very muddy. Most people will agree that excessive stress/strain is a problem but individually have completely different understandings of what that means.

And usually the idea of stress is as a result of something, more like a strain as Malcolm puts it than the original stimulus. E.g. ‘I’m really stressed by all these bills ‘…

Stress is a normal healthy part of life >>> dead without it. Inner conflict about it or perceived and direct physical harm is not healthy but some diseases and conditions will kill you whether you’re happy or not. No two people respond to stress-loads the same way. I have yet to meet an average person, except for me of course.

Bill in defence of Davies and not in defence of wheat Denise Minger did in her critique of the raw China study data and stated that the largest single variate correlation with heart disease, and it was big, was with wheat consumption. Now when I read that kind of data I of course think correlation does not mean causation but neither does it mean wheat is off the hook. Davies does at least cite a mechanism ie large v small LDL and even the critics of this hypothsis admit that small LDL is more atherogenic even though they say that its just a reduction eg getting attacked by a knife instead of a gun. In this situation I ask what is the main source of wheat in the western diet, probably bread. Do other people thrive on removing bread, well yes there are plenty of accounts of this. Would I find it hard to remove bread, heck no. Are there any down sides, heck no. So goodbye bread and wheat

Smartersig, I grow tired of this conversation.
1 You first stated that “Denmark ….during the WW2 had their main food source confiscated by the Nazi occupation.” and “their heart attack rates plummeted only to return after the war ended.”

2 : I challenged you about Denmark being the country where this happened and as a result changed your mind & now say it was Norway where this happened 1940-45..And you presnt as evidence ‘information ‘ from a web site promoting propaganda from a vegetarian & vegan diet.

3 : I checked in Wikipedia about Norway in WW2 and presented the information there, challenging you on this. There was no famine. Imported stuff like tea, coffee, wheat, sugar & tobacco, were all in short supply. There was no mass shortage of meat as the Germans did not confiscate cattle as asserted by your Vegan link.. But people started growing their own food via vegetable gardens and via fishing & hunting…

4 : And now finally you assert that the reduced CVD heart rate in Norway was due to the lower wheat consumption…Ala Bill Davis favorite ideology…

Come on mate : Sort out what you want to say before hitting the keyboard. And have evidence to support it.preferably from a source which is not pushing diet propaganda.

I am not saying loss of wheat caused the drop in heart attacks in Norway I was defending Dr Davies theory on wheat via Denise Mingers analysis of the China study. I was making no connection with Norway, please read my posts more carefully. As for citing the data on Norway as vegan propoganda by incidently a doctor not merely a web site, it is convenient for your anti WFPD to try and squash a debate by simply saying ‘thats Vegan propoganda’. I would imagine that the success stories of Dr Ornish, Dr Esseltyn, Dr Campbell, Dr Macdougal and Pritkin are all ‘Vegan propoganda’. Quoting initially the wrong country does not render the position worthless. A whole food plant based diet has been shown to halt and reverse heart disease, I have no interest in promoting Veganism just healthy hearts

Smartersig
I think it is you who has confounded things.
1 You started out saying that Denmark had a major food crisis because the Germans during the WW2 confiscated their ‘main food source.”
I challenged you on this as the Danish diet ( like other Nordic countries ) is based on dairy, eggs, fish and meat…They do not grow a lot of grains as it is so cold.

I also suggested that it was the Netherlands which suffered from starvation in 1944-45 ( not Denmark) as this is thoroughly documented.

2: You then said no it was Norway, not Denmark. You then produced as evidence a link to a vegetarian /vegan web site..Which does indeed have a film clip showing German troops marching into Oslo in Norway in 1940. The only problem is that this site states that CVD in Norway dropped 1940- 45 because the Germans confiscated cattle and so the Norwegens had to eat grain and become perforce more vegetarian..

However this does not make sense mate. The Norwegan farmers grow even less grain crops than the Danish because it so bloody cold there..It was, and still is mostly imported from other countries…And because the Germans stopped the Norwegan trade with nearly all other counties and shut down the merchant shipping industry, from 1940-45, it was grain which was in short supply.

So if their health improved and CVD went down, it was not because of being grain eaters in this period.

3 Finally you have decided to abandon the Nowegans completely and you are now talking about The China Study by the vegan Dr Colin Campbell, and Denise Minger’s analysis of his stats.

However I’m sure if I spend some hours rereading these authors, and then think about what each is saying and reply to you about it, you will respond by changing every thing again.

So I will not bother.

I feel I am dealing with a wrestler who is ‘well oiled’ so as to be able to slip and slide away from anything I say,, with a view to winning.

PS : It was the poor bloody Dutch who starved in 1944-45 courtesy of Nazi German utter ruthlessness. The famine only came to an end in April 1945 when hundreds of unarmed allied British & US bomber aircraft flow low over the Netherlands and parachuted food supplies to the people. By prior unofficial arrangement the German troops did not fire on these planes. I guess by that stage the Germans military knew they were completely fucked and were looking for a way of earning a way home to Germany when the fighting ended.

How do I know this ? Because my Dad was in the RAF Bomber command, 1940-46. Not aircrew, but he among those loading the planes for those flights. Funny how family stories fit into the bigger picture. .

What was the impact of this famine on the Dutch people ? Thousands died; especially the elderly ,young children and pregnant women. The health ripples of that disaster are still be felt in the Dutch people

smartersig: I vote for d. All creatures, all the way to the top of the food chain, with the possible exception of microbes, eat a whole food plant-based diet (big fish eat the little fish, and so forth). If plants are not the basis of food, what is? On further reflection, it must be microbes which are the basis of food, so we are actually all eating a whole food microbe-based diet. But I still vote d for this as well.

Allow me to summarise things from my prospective,hopefully this will help

There are two threads here

1. Does diet change trump stress (that was my original contention, no mention of plant based but because the case study focuses on it you could not help but discuss plant based rather than is diet more important than stress)

2. Is wheat good or bad

On point two we have evidence that wheat promotes poorer APO B and A profiles and when coupled with evidence that small particles are more athrogenic than large although neither are ‘protective’ then we have to put wheat on the suspect list especially as studies show rice to be OK and rice based communities have some of the best CV profiles and yet when rice is studies along with wheat we get some bad outcomes. If its the rice then this bucks all other studies but if its the wheat then at 17% of the diet that would be pretty damming.

Bill Davis Wheat Belly” website operates on the principle of
1 ” I’m a doctor”
2 ” I’m the expert authority”
3 “Do as I tell you and don’t eat wheat or oats or rye ”
No need for evidence at all ! ( No links to supporting research or anything else )

And if you check his Wheat Belly book of 2008, you will find him recommending people eat organically grown ancient grains.. And describing an experiment he did on himself to support this recommendation.

Yes, he changed his mind on this issue. But he does not present any evidence at all to support the major change in attitude.

I have cited Denise Mingers China study data but as always we have to accept that this is correlation only as most observational data is but wheat does have soem negative effects also on bio markers

a study concluded that a bread diet may promote fat synthesis/accumulation compared with a rice diet
wheat increased BMI compared to flaxseed in a 12 months study
wheat increased ApoB level by 5.4% compared to flaxseed in a 3 weeks study
wheat increased ApoB level by 7.5% compared to flaxseed in a 3 months study
wheat increased ApoB level by 0.05 g/L compared to flaxseed in a 12 months study
oat decreased ApoB level by 13.7% while wheat had no significant effect in a 21 days study
wheat increased the number of LDL particles by 14% while oat decreased them by 5% in a 12 weeks study
ApoA to ApoB ratio (a risk predictor similar in efficiency to ApoB alone – here the higher the better) was increased by 4.7% for oat bran and 3.9% for rice bran compared to wheat bran in a 4 weeks study

Smartersig, I looked at the 2 abstracts in your links. Did you notice that the abstract states
” The potential long-term association between carbohydrate intake and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) remains unclear, especially among populations who habitually have high-carbohydrate diets. ”
And did you notice that “Carbohydrate intake accounted for 67.5% of the total energy intake in women and 68.5% in men. Seventy percent of total carbohydrates came from white rice and 17% were from refined wheat products. ”
So really the study was all about rice.not wheat.

If however you want to believe that the problems associated in the previous study are all down to rice and wheat is off the hook then thats up to you. Persoanlyy I find it easy to ditch and given that it arrives on our table in so many high GI forms I am happy to do so

By the way, thanks for the article about Khorasan organic wheat. That is interesting and maybe useful for folks here. It is even availaile at open access !!
The full text is at this link :http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/7/5/3401

Bill in Oz: That is a very interesting paper. Almost makes one wish to start eating ancient grains again. But not quite. I’m enjoying your and smartersig’s battle of words. It is shedding light on the subject. Cheers to both of you.

Smartersig
I think someone posted here recently the a new paper is uploaded onto pubmed every two seconds, and that 80% are never cited. In the chi ses study, the base data was from food questionnaires, you should read Zoe Harcombe on the subject of food questionnaires and the reliability and utility of the data thus gleaned. Also, 67.5% of carb input from white rice. I beg to ask the utility of even citing t.his study here. As for Khorrasan wheat, a sample sie of 22 people!
I don’t want, to be rude, but if you pass your day trawling pubmed for studies such as these, then my conclusion is you have serious problem of what to do with your life.

Yes you are being rude Chris. I think looking at medical research is a fascinating subject and being someone who has always being interested in numbers and patterns it obviously tends to hold my interest. There does seem to be a strong bias on here in that being perceived as the odd one out with a pro WFPB philosophy and only subscribing to the LCHF approach in a more limited way, then anything can be said in my direction. Sometimes rude, sometimes sarcastic without the wit (Get real!!). I on the other hand I have been most careful to be polite and not bite back, not because I am a super polite mild mannered vegan but because I know that the first time I tell one of you meat eaters to get a life I will be off this list faster than a rat up a drain pipe.
There tends to be a general trend to rubbish studies that are ‘too small’, ‘food survey based’ or just simply epedemiological, when they dont fit the agenda. Thanks for the advice Chris, I am happy with my life

Andy S: Agreed. It is possible to go overboard on vegetables. Although I eat plenty of them, not always. Tonight, for example, after a 3 mile hike in the Redwood forest with my daughter, we made “surf and turf,” meaning steak and lobster, with purple collards on the side. I usually serve nuts, cheese, and fruit for dessert, but not tonight. We ate gobs of cheese, some nuts, and raisins and dates on the trail, so we needed nothing more. It was good!

smartesig: Keep up your research, and your posting. I don’t always agree with you, but I think you’re showing growth in understanding this vexing topic. You show a lot of personality in the way you write, and that is a good thing. I don’t think of you as the odd man out, or any sort of troll (though I appreciate your humor in this regard). We’re all a bit odd (at least I am).

One final reason for being suspicious of wheat. Celiac patients suffer endothelial dysfunction, what if Davies is right and rather like Kraft and his work on degrees of diabetes we also have degrees of adversity to wheat and not celiac or no celiac. If this is the case then it would be wise to eliminate wheat especially as it is so dominant in the western diet

Things I know about William Davis – and I used to read his original blogs – he is a pragmatist rather than a researcher and has achieved considerable success with many of his patients. He has actually changed his mind on several occasions based principally on outcomes. Not a lot of people do that. I don’t keep up with him nowadays though.

AnnaM, sprouting grains can improve their value as food. Sprouted wheat goes from being about 7-8% protein to 28% protein. Some organic farmers use wheat sprouts as food for their livestock because of this.

But as. for Phytates in wheat ? Well Bill Davis that Wheat belly website provides no evidence at all to support his assertions.

I suggest that we here are about ‘evidence’ not arguments from authority.

And by the way Bill Davis offers lots of ‘cures’ via his website and books, which he earns a pretty penny. He has vested interest in selling his stuff by getting them on his special diet.

AnnaM: Absolutely. The purpose of the phytic acid is to prevent premature germination in seeds in the absence of sufficient moisture to support the growth of the young plant. Moisture degrades it, so both sprouting of grains and sour leavening of bread dough substantially reduce it.

Smartersig, re Ancient grains. As it happens I only eat oats, rye, kamut type ancient grains.And I prefer sourdough organic type breads made from these grains. .
I do not eat white wheat flour beads etc.
Why ? Because I believe having done my own research over the past 40-50 years that white wheat flour breads and cakes etc are unhealthy. It’s been buggered around with too much by plant breeders and the processed food industry with added sugar, industrial vegetable oils and preservatives etc.

My comments about Bill Davis ( not Davies ! ) are about the ‘process’ he uses to gain adherens and followers. I’ve read his Wheatbelly book. I’ve got his Undoctored book on my shelf. I’ve read all of his web site articles…And it is very clear that Dr William Davis sets himself up as the “Diet Authority’ and sets out to get people scared. And without presenting the evidence.

Such authoritarianism is no better than the cardiologists who demand we take statins every day.

He must have infiltrated my glucometer then, it tells me that the only thing that spikes my blood glucose worse than wheat is wheat mixed with other carbs. Even wheat bran does it. I suspect not gluten but something else, probably wheat germ agglutinin which affects insulin receptors.

A friend grows “old fashioned” wheat for thatching straw. It resembles rye more than the “modern” post-Norman Borlaug wheat he grows for grain, tall with long straw and small heads. Someone else I know who collects vintage combines reckons several of them will no longer operate in modern wheat as they can’t be driven slow enough to cope with the mass of grains and lack of straw. Gives you some idea how much this crop has changed in my lifetime. Data like this coming from different directions and converging makes me suspect Bill Davis is on to something.

Bill in Oz.
Along with others , I have considered Wheat Belly’s work, and believe his contribution to encourage us to minimise our consumption of refined, modern wheat products is beneficial. But wheat is only a part of the poor diet choices we make on a daily basis, and I like to think that I have learned much about ‘safer’ nutrition in recent years. But, returning to the subject of Dr K’s blog 42, his statistics suggest that diet plays a minor part in cardiac health. Within reason, I would suggest that we just eat ‘sensibly’ ( and all those reading these blogs have a pretty good idea of what that means).
Stress/strain plays a far bigger role, and whilst we continue to discuss all types of food, be it in the way it is grown, processed, cooked etc, I feel we are clouding the issue. When I nursed on a cardiac ward (over 30 years ago), we were reminded to follow the protocol of Nursing by not getting into discussions with patients about money, religion, or politics, because these topics were known to cause stress and thus likely to have a negative impact on recovery.
Whilst preparing cardiac patients for discharge, we discussed lifestyle changes, including nutrition. At that time it was based on the recently introduced ‘low fat, high fibre carbohydrates’ regime….make of that what we like, in the confusion of today’s dietary guidelines.
I wouldn’t have a clue what to advise anyone today, (within the confines of a National Health Service career), would you?

Bill, even if Dr Wheatbelly had a pile of references to support his theorems I would be searching around for my own information to either validate or repudiate him since most writers cherry-pick their way through a supporting paper anyway. It’s pretty easy to find that type of info where grains are concerned. Here’s one which seems to support the negative effects of phytate even in rice, but it is all wrapped up in mind numbing forelock tugging towards conventional nutritional theories. It cherry picks itself in fact, mind-numbingly. Upon reading the first sentence I had to take a deep breath before ploughing onwards. But the info you need is actually in there.

Personally as a t2dm, wheat gets tossed out the window since it has a rapid effect on blood sugar so it gives me decent vicarious pleasure to point out all the other nastiness in it , viz the phytate; the lectins-agglutenins; the high-ish fructan content (fodmaps=gas for me, uggh, and arthritic pains) and last but not least the very nasty, psycho-active, alpha-amylase and trypsin inhibitors (ati’s) which are strongly bound to the gliadin fraction.

I have been taking a look at the raw China Study data and in particular with regard to wheat. I loaded the data up into Excel and tidied up the data to do a simple check on wheat and IHD

The average incidence of heart disease across all regions is 20.38 (HEART DISEASE AGE 35-69 (stand. rate/100,000)
The average intake of wheat is 130.08 grams per day

Now if we look at the numbers for heart disease when the wheat consumption is below average we get heart disease at 15.32
However for heart disease when wheat is above the average of 130.08 we get heart disease at 28.56

The other interesting feature is that if you lower wheat consumption below average HD does not drop it remains fairly constant suggesting that there is a level in which when exceeded HD starts to take off. That levels appears to be 210 grams per day, above that and HD starts to take off. In summary the numbers tend to suggest that eating up to 210 grams per day of wheat is not a big deal but after that HD kicks in. Note I am simply relaying the figures here, sure maybe low wheat eaters are non smokers or whatever

Now finally with regard to wheat V Rice. There were 51 regions with data for rice and wheat. Not surprisingly there were 35 where rice eclipsed wheat consumption whilst wheat was greater than rice in only 16 regions. The average HD figure for the rice consuming regions was 10.4 whilst for the regions consuming more wheat it came in at a whopping 24.6

Average HD figures across all regions with Sat fat data = 19.48
Regions with greater than average Sat fat consumption gives a HD figure of 13.23
Regions with Sat fat below average gives a HD figure of 24.7

No really Gary, I stated before that I thought sat fat was probably neutral and certainly not the elephant in the room. I mentioned some evidence that sat fat caused a detectable degree of endothelial dysfunction. So perhaps sat fat long term especially when you have used it to replace or lower net carbs is not going to result in HD getting you. My WFPB plus fish approach means I eat less than the average person. I take the populations with the best results regarding HD and try to eat like them. If there outcomes have nothing to do with their food but simply they live on hills or happen to be religious or whatever then I am screwed but I am taking a percentage bet

smartersig: Thanks. It sounds like you eat well. My hypothesis, though, is that all the other active things you do have a greater positive effect on your health than the food. I’m sticking with what Dr. Price observed in populations all over the globe. Different populations ate a wide variety of foods, from low-carb to high-carb, since they ate what was available to them, but what destroyed their health were the “displacing foods of modern commerce,” which, if I recall correctly were sugar, flour, vegetable oil, and canned food. That said, there is abundant evidence today that reducing carbohydrate consumption is a valuable therapeutic tool to repair and restore metabolic health. For me, eliminating grains has been nothing but positive. As much as I love my sourdough, I can live without it.

Playing around with this data I have to say I have not had so much fun since the Millenium when the big past time was thinking up domain names to register and make future millions form.

Cholesterol levels dont seem to make much of an impact although APOB seems slightly predictive. Sadly there is no readings for Seretonin which would help to tie in with stress. One or two of interest are the usual suspects Iron and Ferritin

Smartersig
About palmitic acid, have you seen Dr K’s blog of june 23 2015,called What happens to the carbs. Don’t want to spoil THE end for you, but in brief excessif carbs are converted into Palmitic acid and it forms, according to Wikipedia 21-30% of human depot fat.
Also major component of human breast milk.

This fits in with the data I have been pumping out. The acid readings are from blood levels not dietary input and fit in with carb intake which the chinese have a high percentage of. Could it be that dietary fat has little negative effects as it does not effect the blood stream (aka Dr K June 2015) like palmatic acid derived from carbs ?.

Smartersig
That is certainly how I understand it. The very high carbs input in the China stuff from mostly rice, but wheat as well would fit.
I have to admit that Dr K June 2015 is my bible, because at least I can understand it!

Forgive me if I have mentioned these macro nutrients before but the numbers on Fat, Carbs and protein as % of total calories will please you, first fat

> average HD = 14.74090909

average HD = 21.7262069

average HD = 22.00454545

< average HD = 17.34884615

Their average protein intake is only just under 10% of calories so not big in that department. On the other hand we I am guessing are much higher (western world) on protein and carbs. If these figures are reliable then its not difficult to see where the problem is

Randall: Good article today on GreenMedInfo concerning lectins, phytate and auto-immune disease. Choice quote: “. . .the commensal microbes that inhabit the gut synthesize phytase, an enzyme that degrades phytates, in a dose-dependent manner.” Apparently these compounds, which many foods contain, can have an hormetic effect, except in the case of chronic illness, when high doses can be problematic to gut-barrier function and the sequelae of leaky gut. The exception is wheat gluten agglutinin, and it’s corresponding molecules in barley and rye, for which there is more evidence of harm. In any case, I no longer have any concern over phytates in nuts. I’ll continue to do pumpkin seeds the Aztec way because they taste really good this way.

Randall: Looks like useful information, but is behind a pay wall. The rule of thumb I follow in preparing phytate-rich foods is: How did pre-industrial cultures deal with it? In the case of grains, sour leavening was commonplace in bread-making. Some, but not all, New World corn cultures used niztimalization, mainly to increase the bio-availability of niacin, but this likely also reduced phytic acid. As for nuts, the Aztecs soaked pumpkin seeds in water with chile, followed by drying, the soaking having the same effect as sour leavening in reducing phytic acid. The other nuts I eat I know nothing about traditional preparation, so I just eat them. I don’t worry about phytic acid reducing mineral uptake, and I eat only small amounts of these foods anyway.

Gary & Randal, I looked at that article in paywalled site. It was published in 2002 – 15 years ago. It’s old old science. And I suggest nobody knows now in 2017, if it was good scientific research in 2002.

And keeping it paywalled ensures that few people actually can work if it is good science now in 2017.

It is a handicap to informed discussion here & elsewhere.

SO : on the subject of Paywalled stuff, I want to make a suggestion :

If it’s :Paywalled it’s Blackballed”.

I’m 70 years old. I remember at university in the 1960-70’s reading articles from the Uni library. If I considered them important, I photocopied them or took slabs of notes. Then I had them as long as I wanted them. That allowed me to go through them and tease apart the argument, the evidence & the methodology.
And that was fundamental to the process of doing research.

Bill in Oz: That is also what I did then, and it is what I do today, although now I mainly print rather than photocopy. I have four or five notebooks full of notes just from the last three years of research. Something about the act of writing something down gives me a mental card catalog so that I can invariably find something I once noted. It really helps in remembering and in connecting the dots. As far as I’m concerned both research and learning demand the act of writing things down from time to time.

I am primarily on a ketogenic/close to all meat diet. However, for the holidays, I’ve been making sourdough bread using Einkorn wheat (supposedly the same type of wheat from 2,000+ years ago before hybridization created modern wheat). I’ve realized over time that this fermented, unhybridized wheat still causes me issues such as irritable bowel syndrome. While I think fermenting wheat likely helps, for some of us, it’s not enough.

I’m slowly moving to an all-meat diet. I usually eat all meat for lunch, and minor amount of vegetables for dinner (usually don’t eat breakfast). I’ve found I feel better eating all meat.

By the way, I’m wearing a continuous glucose monitor. When I eat all meat, particularly beef, I get zero blood sugar rise. By this, I mean I cannot tell from my blood sugar reading when I ate. I can some blood sugar rise if I eat my “seafood salad”, such as shrimp, mussels, salmon, sardines, and anchovies with olive oil and vinegar. That may be due to the carbs in the seafood, though.

By contrast, I had a breakfast with eggs, meat, and potatoes. My blood sugar rose quite a bit due to the potatoes.

Sci-Hub. Keeps being blocked by the US Government and also now in the UK, but check Wikipedia to see which links may still work. Currently http://sci-hub.hk/ and other mirrors but tomorrow may be different. IMO Alexandra Elbakyan should receive a Nobel prize. It’s horrifying how many papers from decades ago are STILL paywalled. Do you think someone is trying to stop us reading them?

I was wondering this as well. My darling Dad succumbed to depression which ended in suicide. Cutting your father down from a rafter in the garage and the subsequent fallout that has reverberated within me I cannot escape the conclusion that it has influenced my own heart disease.

I have always been open about my Dad as I firmly believe suicide needs to be discussed more. Having said that my comments on this forum are meant to highlight perhaps an extreme version of negative stressor/strain in relation to heart disease. In the absence of all other risk factors it seems to me that this is a possible explanation for my heart disease particularly as from that death followed divorce, a breakdown in family, moving to another country (NZ to Australia) on my own where I knew no one and the subsequent starting all over again.

Linda,
Thank you for your courage in discussing suicide. You are right — too often it is swept under the rug, and families refuse to have what could be a lifesaving discussion.

My father was depressive — in those days, he was what they called manic-depressive, but far more on the depressive side. He was an abusive alcoholic, was never able to hold a steady job, and never able to support the family on a long-term basis. In this light, one can see why he was depressed. He attempted suicide on several occasions– slashing his wrists, O’Ding, etc. I am sure that’s what he was up to the time he slammed into a concrete bridge abutment, at high speed, driving in an extremely inebriated state. The police contacted my Mom, who was due the next day to return from the hospital after giving birth to my younger sister, to tell her he was not going to survive. But he did. Yet, in my dysfunctional family, it was taboo to discuss my father’s suicide attempts, his alcoholism, his depression, his inability to function as an adult, or his acutely sadistic personality.

And holidays were a horror show for me as a child — we usually spent them with my paternal grandmother (eventually bludgeoned to death by her insane, pedophile, alcoholic youngest son). At holiday dinners, the men would get drunk, get extremely depressed, and often get into bloody fights with cutlery, fists, and broken bottles. The family just pretended this bizarre alternate reality did not exist. One just did NOT bring any of this up, so it just got worse. The adults were apparently oblivious to the scars on us, the children.

If more families would speak out, we’d likely help the men in our lives enormously, and have less suicide, untreated depression, and CVD. And very likely, less domestic violence, and fewer emotional scars on children that grew up in such dysfunctional families.

Again, I am saddened to hear about your dad, but so proud of you and grateful to you for having the guts to talk about it.

BTW, my dad had severe CVD, and several heart attacks, starting at age 41. He baffled his docs, who ere sure each cardiac incident would be his death. It was congestive heart failure at 65 that eventually killed him. On my maternal side, the women and men were all long-lived. On my dad’s side, all the men died of either cirrhosis from alcoholism, or suicide. The women were either long-lived or killed by violence via their whacko male relatives.

My heart goes out to you, Linda. I didn’t have to cut my father down, but he hanged himself beneath a bridge when I was 15. Had many years in which I bathed my brain in alcohol to rid me of the pain, maybe because I didn’t have access to therapy. I think the most effective path for me then would have been trauma based CBT, which involves normalizing the experience through repetition and articulating the experience, coupled with calming techniques. I can’t say that would be the best for you; only that I would likely have benefited from that. Being able to talk about something terrible is very different from being overrun by unarticulated thoughts. I think it’s one of the reasons why we talk – to capture something – control it – name it – manipulate it – rather than the opposite, which is being overrun by emotion. One of the ways in which you can see someone is still being traumatized by an event is that they talk about it in the present tense, and it often has a haphazard quality. Once they learn to talk about it as an event, in clear narrative, they tend to feel relief. I hope that’s helpful in a small way.

TS, good to see Dr Kendrick will address this at some point, it has affected some of my loved ones. Post natal, marriage breakdowns, loss of employment. Lots of different reasons, the young now especially. People who live in palaces are protected, the rest of us perhaps do not feel valued. As Maya Angelou said in her poem, about women, though it means so much to us all. ” And still I rise” There indeed was oppression.
Gone all maudlin.

Interestingly, in our family, going back to my great grandfather T H Huxley, nearly all of the men have been afflicted by the Black Dog at some time in their lives, whereas we women have somehow escaped. I’ve often wonder d why.

Thank you Gary. I am fortunate enough not to have had depression but some male family members are not so fortunate. I think most families have members who get depressed but men often hide it. The male : female ratio for suicide in the western world is approximately 3-4 : 1 so I think we can assume that generally men experience depression more severely.
I wonder how many men have had depression who follow this blog – but are reluctant to admit it. What an unfortunate taboo.

It might affect women more than men, but it could also be that the expression of depression is different in both. Men are more effective at killing themselves, which removes them from the pool of depressed persons, and men are more likely to be alcoholics, which also is very likely an expression of depression. I would say that men experience depression more as children do – through rage and irritability; whereas women experience a more subtle but no less debilitating form as malaise. Although there is a lot of variance in the ways we talk and express ourselves, I think in general it’s clear that men are much less capable of talking about feelings. This might be protective in some sense (I certainly have seen children who are over therapized – too much pondering and perseverating on feelings), but it’s ultimate expression is one of unarticulated rage. As in all things, it’s a balance. If you can articulate feelings, this is a plus; but if you talk incessantly about depressed feelings, you can spin out of control.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2738337/
Understanding nutrition, depression and mental illnesses
“Few people are aware of the connection between nutrition and depression while they easily understand the connection between nutritional deficiencies and physical illness. Depression is more typically thought of as strictly biochemical-based or emotionally-rooted. On the contrary, nutrition can play a key role in the onset as well as severity and duration of depression.”

DR K, you say that “It was during the period that the cause of coeliac disease was first established. There was no wheat to eat, and those children with coeliac improved considerably. Funny how things pan-out.”
Coelic disease = Gluten intolerance.
Now this is a real issue for some individuals And avoiding gluten in the diet the only safe option.
Wikipedia says that this discovery was made by ‘the Dutch paediatrician Dr Willem Karel Dicke.[144] It is likely that clinical improvement of his patients during the Dutch famine of 1944 (during which flour was scarce) may have contributed to his discovery.[145] Dicke noticed that the shortage of bread led to a significant drop in the death rate among children affected by coeliac disease from greater than 35% to essentially zero. He also reported that once wheat was again available after the conflict, the mortality rate soared to previous levels.[“

In defense of Dr. Davis, his advice caused a drastic improvement in my life.

No more Acid Reflux, no more Inflammation in my feet requiring insoles, cured my wife’s IBS.

As an aside, it’s interesting how strongly people oppose the idea of removing wheat. Dr. Davis believes that wheat is addictive and from what I’ve seen he’s probably correct on that account as well. Besides tobacco and alcohol, you could ask someone to give up just about anything for two weeks and they would be indifferent but suggest removing bread and the answer is almost always “NO, how could I ever live without ‘-insert favorite wheat product here-‘”

As for Denise Minger, I trust here work because of this one outlier:

Wheat had the highest correlation with CVD and cancer with one exception, eggs. For some reason eggs had a high correlation to cancer. She was dumbfounded by this find but still published it. A few years later the reason for this correlation was found when China shut down three of the largest 100 year egg producers for using highly toxic metals to accelerate the process. My calculations showed that there were literally hundreds of millions of these poison eggs produced yearly for well over twenty years.

Because she didn’t cover up this outlier, even though it want against her hypothesis, is why I give her findings more weight in my own opinions. Dr. K has earned this with me as well.

When Miss Minger suggests that the China study data does not back the meat assertions of Campbell she is applauded on here and I am not arguing with that but when you suggest wheat and in particular bread should be given a second look and Denise Minger’s analysis is cited then suddenly Mingers data is incorrectly Mungered

Hi Doug, you wrote “China shut down three of the largest 100 year egg producers for using highly toxic metals to accelerate the process.”…

I did not know this & find that interesting. One hundred year old eggs are never 100 years old..Just ‘preserved’ eggs possibly 100 days !

Personally I have always been distrustful of such ‘food’ and never eaten it. It’s curious when we think about it : fresh eggs always have a use by date as they do go off. And free range pastured are best. I also avoid barn & cage eggs.

Goran, I think that your comment is directed to me. Yes I am aware that CVD & Type 2 Diabetes dropped in WW2 in some countries. The issue is the reason why this happened. The vegan site suggested by Smartersig suggested it was because there was a shortage of meat…
But that seems bizarre.

I suspect that there was a huge drop in sugar consumption in WW2 and tobacco smoking as well. And these were the causative agents.

I had an interesting experience at St Vincents Private Hospital in Sydney Australia. My husband who is a Professor at UNSW was in Cardiac Rehab after 1 bypass ( Robotic CABG LAD) and 3 stents. He is 60 years type1 diabetic and was 100% asymptomatic. ( we have a 20 years age gap)
He was scared by angiogram into having the procedures. ( LAD 90% block but the circumflex only up to 70%) I could not dissuade him with Orbita.

The team that did the surgery are a famous transplant team from the Victor Chang Institute, so surgery was perfect. BUT when I asked the brilliant anaesthetist about collaterals and asymtomatic-ness etc his reply was, once anyone sees the angiogram they can not psychologically live with the best evidence in most cases. They think they must ‘do something’.

Very transparent I thought!
So back to rehab…. there was my PhD Professor husband with a cushy life and his partner in rehab a 60 year old abattoir worker with no previous diseases of symptoms. He had 5 baypasses and had collapsed at the abattoir and was flown from Casino NSW to Sydney. I would say stress and strain of killing animals his whole life and working shift work his whole life exerted the same stress and strain as autoimmune diseases in my husband ( my husband also has celiacs) Two lives, 2 different socioeconomic classes and 2 very different work environments. Same result virtually…. both from loving families from what I could see …I go with Dr K’s hypothesis.

Seems like I hav to add something to make my previous comment pass SW,

It seems to me as the arteries of your husband was in the same bad shape as my arteries are and with same scary angiogram. In my case I suffered a severe MI so I might have been in a worse condition. We ar both professors (I am now retired and don’t carry the title any more, except as associate) but we have evidently taken diametrically opposed views of how to go ahead with our common disease.

How comes? Our analytical capacity should reasonably be similar. Could it be that he might be a part of the medical establishment and myself am outside this realm? It might though have been my wife who never did trust medicine who pushed me in the right (?) direction.

Anyway, with the “do nothing medical” attitude (if you don’t have taken the Hippocratic view of looking at food as you medicine or looking at supplements in the same way) it actually still surprises me that I today experience a stronger and stronger wellbeing while my physical ability is slowly declining. But I had no angina when working on the wet snow in front of my house yesterday; a good sign of CVD-improvement.

Hi, sorry to take so long to get back to you. NO, he is not a medical dr. They talked so much about type 1 diabetes and how type 1 patients are so this and that … So, he gave in from fright I truly believe. My son is a Pilot ( B777 – 300-ER plane) My daughter is a lawyer. All three of us could read the literature and see he was making a mistake. He was blind to the studies and went forth, sadly. Cardiac Rehab is a scary place! Transplant young adults etc. BUT that said, time will tell I guess. But it has made me really think about what I would do in his place before I am under the thumb of the medical system. He has been told his whole life he will die of heart disease or a stroke due to type1 . So in a way he was perfectly groomed into acquiesce. I admire your thinking on your health! Shannon

It’s curious that even after Dr K’s just written, very clear, blog stating that stress/strain is the CAUSE of CVD, you want to bang on about the vegan diet.

I am not a vegan or even a vegetarian. I eat a healthy diet of minimally processed food with lots of dairy foods, rye and oat & whole organic breads, fish and meat, plus fruits & vegetables. I do not eat foods with added sugar or industrial seed oils. and generally that means no cheap take away meals at all. I also have a large organic garden so much of the fresh produce is grown by my own hands. I also refuse to buy industrial feed lot manufactured meats.

I think most folks would thrive on such a diet. But this is just my opinion.

And genetics and the microbiome and dietary history have an impact. And as mentioned by Dr K. some folks are gluten intolerant. Such individuls need to do their own research and work out for themselves what works.

By the way I think yoyu are denying the bleeding obvious with your remarks about the Shanghai Chinese study.: The abstract states
1: “Carbohydrate intake accounted for 67.5% of the total energy intake in women and 68.5% in men. ” Lets average that & say carbohydrates totaled 68%

“2 Seventy percent of total carbohydrates came from white rice”

3 ” 17% were from refined wheat products. ”

So white rice was 70% of carbohydrates which constituted 70% of the total diet. They presunably also ate fish, vegetables tofu, eggs, meat etc. as well. That means that white rice was major part of the total diet.

On the other hand refined wheat flour food was only 17% of total carbohydrates. So clearly it was even less as a component if the total diet.
The study was mostly about rice. It. was not looking at the effects of wheat in the diet.

By the way, that seems like a pretty normal old fashioned Chinese diet to me.

BTW Smartersig, My reply above is driven by looking at the evidence you presented here….Asking the ‘right’ questions of the evidence is the key to good analysis of it’s significance..

The questions you posed merely ask for my opinions ( Do you Think ? ” And the evidence which I have read & thought about is complex.. Frankly, it all depends on the individual person. There are no simple universal answers. .
But you try “43” as an answer Apparently it is the right answer to an important question. I’m just not sure which one…

Perhaps dr K here is a reincarnated Douglas Adams ? There is a Scottish connection in the names…
🙂
Ahhh the trials and befuddlements of numberology..

Speaking of which there’s been a bit here recently via the discussion of the China Study’s ‘results’…I read this book in 2013..And for a while was enthusiastic about it…But then found it was not for me..And then Denise Minger took it all apart. And then did another slightly less critical report on it in 2015….
The queer thing is, that the ‘results’ that this study achieved,supposedly over a 20 year period, have never been reproduced.

My original post was on topic, I was stating that I think stress is a factor but diet perhaps still trumps this and I cited the WW2 example. With regard to the rice argument see my previous post. There are two ways to view this, rice is the culprit or given the previous studies exonerating rice we could say wheat has even more to answer to. There is plenty of drum banging on LCHF on here to which I am happy to listen to

Every person has a unique DNA sequence in their genome. Now researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge have tried to quantify what these differences in the genome mean in the context of the genes targeted by drugs.

In a new study published in the scientific journal Cell they look at certain receptors (GPCRs) in the human cell. These protein receptors are the main targets of the biggest group of marketed modern medicine. By mining existing data sets they have mapped the extent to which mutations occur within GPCR drug targets in individuals and studied what impact these mutations could have on the therapeutic effect of medicine.

“We estimate that an average of 3 percent of the population have receptors that contain mutations which can alter the effect of medicine,” says first author of the study, PhD Fellow Alexander Hauser from the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology at the University of Copenhagen.

“This might mean that the medicine simply works less efficiently. It can also mean that the medicine does not work at all or causes adverse effects on patients,” adds Madan Babu, last author of the study, from the MRC Lab of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, where Hauser conducted this research.

The researchers have analysed the mutations in human GPCRs by using whole genome sequencing data from the 1,000 Genomes project with about 2,500 participants as well as exome data from the ExAC project with over 60,000 participants.

They then used structural data to infer critical sites in GPCRs to uncover which mutations are more likely to alter the outcome of medicine.

“The 3 percent of the affected population is an average. For some important receptors, it is way more. For instance, the relevant mutations occur in 69 percent of people in the GLP1 receptor that is the target of diabetes medicine and in 86 percent of people in the CNR2 receptor that is used as a target for medicine to relieve nausea induced by chemotherapy. But of course, we cannot know every person’s genome and so these are estimates based on the data sets available,” says Alexander Hauser.

The researchers use their findings and sales data for the 279 GPCR-relevant drugs from the National Health Service in the UK to estimate how much money is spent on medicine with little or no effect.

As a conservative estimate, they find the economic burden on the UK National Health Service to be at least 14 million pounds annually, taking into account the number of people with mutations in both copies of the gene in important sites of the receptor target.

“The prevalence and potential impact of variation in drug response between individuals is a strong argument for further researching this field. It also constitutes a fine example of why personalised medicine might be the way forward; even when we are talking about common drugs,” says Hauser.

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Copenhagen The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Even when there is a clear and present danger, the program rolls on or is re-routed to places where there is no wherewithal to refuse it.
I refuse to define my positive embrace of health as anti ‘anything’. What anyone else call me is their choice. I don’t choose toxins where I have a better choice.

Qualifying any critical remark to the vaccine theory/agenda is often a hasty rejoinder – for as we all know, ‘anti vaxxers kill babies!’. The power of pharmaceuticals is not as fiercely protected as power operating via pharma-biologicals. Generally one knows where the power is by what cant be talked about without dissonance calling down penalty.

I am for freedom of choice as to what is injected, inserted or done to my body – and that of my children – which also means freedom of information by which to make such a choice. I am also for freedom of voice as part of sharing and debating the information by which to make choices.

The insidious ‘logic’ of the vax agenda is one by which individual freedom has to be sacrificed for the greater good. Before mandatory vax for all is state enforced in your locality, you might care or dare… to see if there is any science under the dogma – or any transparency and accountability as to its safety, or efficacy in actual immunity and social health and wellbeing.

There may be dependencies as a result of not acquiring natural immunity, but that is the general result of replacing natural health processes with unnatural sickness management programs.

There IS no health under such programs – for it what was health is now a propensity for disease – and with the enjoinder of spreading it to everyone else – or preventing ‘herd’ conformity.

It isn’t only a toxic shock, its a social acculturation and in some countries – greets a newborn infant on their first day. Not to mention the likes of flu vax to pregnant mothers.

How COULD repeatedly injecting the ingredients of (multiple) vaccines directly into the blood supply (in anyone – let alone infants) be tested and proven safe? And in the HPV example, I can only think that the power to enact such programs is so exaggerating the absence of science as to see by reaction that the post-truth society (open dictatorship)has truly arrived – and the ‘patient’ is well and truly unaware of what is going on or powerless to speak or act if they are.

Before anyone reacts – be aware that doctoring data, media control and captured and financed medical educational and research institutions isn’t just a new outbreak of corruption. Power OVER others corrupts, and conflicted definitions of power have corrupted outcomes. Our vocabulary has been corrupted. But if that is too big a step to consider – the scientific literature is not a trustworthy foundation. So it comes down to discernment – which I recognize as the heart’s knowing – and not to be confused with getting a head of yourself.

Eric: On the other hand I am 100% anti-vaxxer. The autism rate is now 1 in 36 in the U.S (1 in 28 boys, and 1 in 80 girls). Dr. Chris Exley in the U.K., the world’s leading expert in aluminum toxicity, just published a paper concerning aluminum in the brain tissue of five autistic children and adults. The amount of aluminum was exceedingly high, far higher than in any of the Alzheimer brains they have examined, and occurring in all parts of the brain. He is now warning about the use of vaccines containing aluminum salts. In the U.S. these are Anthrax, DT, DTaP, DTaP-IPV, some HIB, Hep A, Hep B, HPV, Men-B Bexsero, Pneumococcal (Prevnar 13), Td, and Tdap. Some form of most of these are on the pediatric schedule in the U.S. (and many other countries).

Ah, yes, Eric, as a retired scientist, I would also like to see vaccines treated like other drugs (they are just products sold by the pharma industry, after all), tested, benefits-vs-problems assessed, etc.. But, here in the US, you cannot suggest such a thing without getting shrieked at as an “anti-vaxxer” by the vaccine-junkies. How they can label a call to test all drugs in a clear, unbiased scientific manner as “anti-science” is beyond me. The pharmaceutical industry has brainwashed a large majority of the US public. And we have the best congress-persons that money can buy (literally), so there is no relief legislatively.

Gary, just a quick sanity check: How much aluminum is there in total in all the courses of vaccination that kids receive vs. how much total was presumably found in that study of autistic kids? If it was much more, which I am pretty sure of, you can rule out the vaccinations as the cause. Also, do we know that aluminum causes autism? I believe not.

High autism rates in the US are hardly proof of anything:
– they are probably overdiagnosed in the US
– a number of food additives are legal in the US that aren’t anywhere else in the industrialized world, potassium bromate, just to name one
– the US is probably unique in the amount of stress it places on families which is bound to have some effect
– —–

Eric: This is so totally off topic that I will only say a few words. Read the paper by Professor Chris Exley, a Professor of Bioinorganic Chemistry at Keele University in Staffordshire, England, published on November 27, 2017, in the Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology. Also read J. B. Handley’s article on Medium on this and all the rest of the recent research concerning the bio-persistance of Al in brain tissue and its toxicity. There certainly is more than one driver of the brain injury that results in autism, but Al appears to be one of the main ones. Autism is serious crisis, and it has become a crisis worldwide.

Thanks, just read a transcript of an interview that Christopher Exley gave to arte.tv.

Learned a few things that I will need to follow up on:
– tea plants can store a lot of aluminum, and tea drinkers excrete a lot of aluminum through their urine (never knew that)
– drinking mineral water that contains > 30 mg/l of silicon ions supports excretion of aluminum

I was aware that aluminum is linked to Alzheimers, however, there is no mention of autism.

No back to my orignal question:
How many mg of aluminum are there in a dose of vaccine? Turns out the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, the German government institute for infections diseases says that it is only certain vaccines like rabies, hepatitis, tetatnus contain aluminum and that European law limits aluminum to 1.25 mg per dose, whereas current vaccines contain between 1/10 and 2/3 of that.

My takeaway: this is much less than the daily excretion rate so I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it.

Eric: This is what a U.S. infant receives in Al adjuvants in vaccines in the first six months: Birth: 250 mcg.; 2 months: 1,225 mcg; 4 months: 975 mcg; 6 months: 1,225 mcg. Of ingested Al (what we receive by mouth), nearly all is excreted (all but about 0.3%). Injected Al is treated by the body in an entirely different fashion. The particles are enveloped by macrophages, which can and do deliver them to tissues and organs, including the brain. A wealth of information about toxicity of Al adjuvants is here:
vaccinepapers.org
A recent interview with Professor Exley is here (reprinted from Hippocraticpost):
naturalnews.com/2017-12-04-aluminum-adjuvants-in-vaccines
You, and all the rest of us, should be very concerned about this. Denial won’t make it go away.

AH Notepad: I erred when I called it an interview. It was an article by Professor Exley titled something like How do you question vaccines without being called an antivaxxer. His answer, at the end, is you don’t. Natural news is often censored, but the article may be still available on Hippocraticpost. I’ll try to find it.

From further down the thread, I also suspect better fed people, especially with sufficient sun exposure to maintain decent levels of Vitamin D, have more functional immune systems. Certainly I am far from alone in noticing a massive reduction in response to bacteria and viruses since going LCHF/keto and even my doctor has noted that well fed people (we still have them around these parts) are less disease prone.

The current vaccination schedule appears to be completely over the top compared to what we had when I was young (basically polio, diptheria and smallpox) but is probably an inevitable consequence of a poorly fed population with crappy immune systems – and this probably works the other way too with the increase in autoimmune diseases..

chris c, better nutrition would be a better idea, but you appear to accept this anyway. There is no chance aluminium as an adjuvant will be removed from vaccines, and so you are going to continue with aluminium poisoning into the forseeable future, as a result vaccines cannot be “Better”

Eric, I used to pose as not being anti-vax, but since there are NO ingredients of any vaccine that are a nutrient for humans, that position was ridiculous. Therefore I disagree with vaccinations, and will maintain this position until someone can tell me the nutrient value of any of the following
Aluminium
Formaldehyde
Mono sodium glutamate
polysorbate 80

There are many other ingredients used which are not nutrients.

The claimed method of vaccines’ workings are totally flawed, given that most people round the world are not vaccinated, yet do not suffer from disease. Conversley, where there are programs of mass vaccination, there are frequent “epidemics”.

This post will, no doubt, generate some accusations and opposing views. But I won’t be having a stress response, unlike I suspect, the opposition.

AH Notepad: Read Dr. Exley’s paper, and watch the interview. He once had a neutral stance on the possible dangers of aluminum salts in vaccines. He no longer does. The pharmaceutical industry has a stranglehold on most governments and regulatory bodies, and in the U.S., the media. Vaccines are their growth industry, since most therapeutic compounds found in nature have already been discovered. The purpose of WHO is population reduction, and has been since it was founded in the post-war period.

I waved the idea in front of my medical defence union and they threw a fit. As they are my insurance for any medical negligence claim, I kind of have to pay attention to what they say. With CVD, they are far more chilled, because there are far more points of view out there. With vaccines, it is hard ball.

JDPatten: That is Dr. Kendrick’s call whether or not to publish them. I fully respect his judgement. The internet is our salvation from pseudoscience. A majority of Americans no longer trust the media to report honestly.

Dr Kendrick, given the work of Dr Kraft and Ivor Cummings along with the data on Glucose in the China data it would seem to me that Blood glucose/insulin is looking a primary suspect in this game which if true means food is very much on the menu. Heart disease has also risen in tandem with sugar consumption and the industry tried to suppress connections way back in the 70’s. Is this not looking like a slam dunk. Sure other things play a part but in terms of bang for buck would we not get the greatest positive return if everyone in our nation simply slashed their blood glucose levels ?.

Sorry JDPatten, the skirmishes are often my doing by responding to poorly supported claims about the perceived benefits of vaccines. The fix is always nutrition. If only the NHS would understand and act on this there would be fewer long stay patients in hospitals. There might even be fewer patients of all sorts. One illustration of the problem, and often discussed here, is the feeding of carbohydrates to diabetes sufferers, in the false belief that saturated fats will give them heatr disease. (See, I have read some of “Diabetes Unpacked”, and would recomment it to everybody).

One of the things that amazes me, is that nowadays people go on holidays all over the globe – often without any vaccinations (other than the standard ones they had as children) – and yet we don’t (crossed fingers) get any epidemics in the West – even though I’ll bet hygiene standards are not that high in all our takeaways!

TB might be an exception.

I wonder if well fed people are pretty resistant to most infectious diseases.

David Bailey: I think that this is undoubtedly true, that well-fed people are less susceptible to becoming symptomatic from infection (while still being infected). But I think it is very complicated. Under the best of circumstances (a well-nourished child born to well-nourished parents and spared from vaccination and nursed for the first year or so), the immune system is challenged by exposure to microbes, and develops in response to them. During the nursing period, the mother’s immune system protects the infant. Because of this, when a novel microbe appears in a population, it can be very destructive because nobody possesses any immune memory to it. This is why many of the European colonist in the New World found a land with few people. They were dead. In response to the ravages of infectious diseases in the filthy, overcrowded cities of particularly the 18th and 19th Centuries, intelligent people pushed for sanitation systems, clean water systems, the razing of slums, child labor laws, and so forth. The invention of the automobile helped, too, by removing the vast piles of horse manure from cities. Thus infectious diseases were gradually conquered decades before any vaccine, other than smallpox, was developed and released to the public. The historical record clearly shows that the smallpox vaccine increased infection rates, rather than offering protection. This is why the people of Leicester rebelled, stopped vaccinating, and eliminated smallpox as a threat among their population. Today commercial interests have so fully captured governments and regulatory bodies that science is simply ignored. Few mothers today have immune protection to pass on to their nursing infants for those infectious diseases that are dangerous in this cohort, such as measles. The state of health of children today in the U.S. (and the U.K.) has continued to worsen as more vaccines are added to the schedule. It is frightening.

How much of the ‘infectious’ disease is a cover for shock-stress AND malnutrition AND toxicity AND nocebo AND toxic ‘treatment’?
How much of the settled science of the virus is truly proven?
How much of the bacterial is naturally resident and fulfilling function within the environmental (biophysical) need? Not the personality ‘need’.
What if we are treating healing (processes) as diseases – as a result of fear contagion?

Hurt or limit yourself first to evade or mitigate the punishment that fear believes is coming. Give up your children to appease the gods of wrath. These motifs merely take different forms.

Why is it that bad news (IE PR of the fear of smear tactic) travels fast and sticks – regardless of when it isn’t true? Is it not because we fear and therefore subconsciously expect ‘the inevitable’ … and are so easily triggered to abandon whatever else is going on to defences that attack (us)!

How many are effectively killed by or seriously degraded by the treatment if not by the diagnosis? And being diagnosed – (or one’s newborn being diagnosed) – when healthy, as a ‘vector for disease’ – to be offered up (or demanded) as sacrifice for the ‘greater good’. No wonder the wisdom-culture of truly abiding with, listening and learning, is lost to the mind-control of fear reaction.

Because we no longer trust not knowing, and thus truly attend? (And grow in clinical and healing skill). Because we have to be seen to DO something to cover a sense of inadequacy? (and in the process generate an unchecked ‘growth economy’ in sickness-management that extends beyond the medical model – for ‘failure’ is the nature of what may be called destructo-capitalism – that consolidates the monopolistic control of capital, services, goods and resources (under a pervasive information-infrastructural feedback, to sucks the life out of anything for an evaporation.

I read of the first man to get a certain kind of artificial heart pump. Who bled too easily to have blood thinning, and so the clots developing as a result of the reaction with the plastic (?) took him out by a stroke a few months later. But his heart was never in danger – and carried on beating while he died. Very similar summary to the line, “well we lost the patient, but we got the cancer!”.

Before I will accept a framework of thought, I feel it for the ring of honesty or the smell of manipulative intent – so as to not accept and transmit contagion. It isn’t only ‘studies’ that are designed to deceive. Nor only legal, financial and educational instruments. It is part of the masking over true that keeps us hidden from a feared exposure – and prey to the deceits that are protective to darkness.

By the way I don’t dismiss beliefs. One who is told by experts that they have a terminal condition that will kill them in a matter of months or a couple of years, succumbs to shock. This is an extremely suggestible state. But experts are not the gods that they were, and the internet is still a vast resource of multifaceted perspectives within which a true desire can find resonance both intellectually and intuitively – IF there is the presence of (heart) and mind to hold back from emotion-led reaction and genuinely stay open to what truly helps. One man’s meat is another man’s poison. One cant just follow blindly and ‘wish’ intensely as if some outside force will save the day We have to open our own willingness and step out in trust, to grow trust, and the calm that communicates itself when conflict is not fuelled – because whatever you chose to do or not do, has found your heartfelt acceptance. This is to be truly in our lives – and I suggest this is a way of defining health. We never do live more than a day at a time – and a step at a time. the mind is a fickle ‘friend’.

Gary,
The majority (How much is that?) no longer (Since when?) trust the media (Which particular medium do you refer to?) to report honestly (How does one determine honesty? Is it that which you prefer to believe? The FBI, CIA haven’t figured out how to do it.) And, how does a “majority” bear on the determination of reality anyway?
A truth: The internet is also an excellent propagator of pseudoscience.

JDPatten: Right you are. The poll result I read somewhere; what it means is anyone’s guess. We can’t even be certain that election results reflect the way people actually voted, since most ballots today are electronically recorded, the software proprietary, and the results tabulated by private firms. There certainly is plenty of garbage on the internet, but this is actually one of the internet’s strength. Censorship is, so far, minimal. The traditional media is so dependent on ad revenue from pharma while it takes its last gasps of air that they self-censor anything critical of public health policy, which is a lucrative revenue stream for industry. So how to find truth? We must develop discernment based upon logic, our own observations and experiences, and those of others. We must follow the precautionary principle in formulating mandated public policy. We must recognize that throughout the history of science, scientists have been often wrong, at least in part. Medicine as well. It is no different today. Today we are ruled largely by commercial interests, which I find dangerously un-democratic, and a great danger to both science and medicine.

Hi Gary, please do remember that many countries still preserve the old paper ways of voting. We here in Oz certainly still do in all the states and territories and the national level.. And the votes are counted and checked and scrutineered by the quaint old fashioned way of employing actual living people…I believe that the UK & NZ still do as well….

Our beloved miserly national government conducted. a study a year ago into the idea of computerising the election count process. It was a ‘brave’ save us some money driven thought bubble.
But after investigating the ‘unwonderful’ the track record in the USA and the capacity of the electoral vote to be adjusted, cancelled, or generally stuffed around with, they decided to not bother. Such common sense is rare but to be prized when it happens.

“I waved the idea in front of my medical defence union and they threw a fit. As they are my insurance for any medical negligence claim, I kind of have to pay attention to what they say. With CVD, they are far more chilled, because there are far more points of view out there. With vaccines, it is hard ball.”

I wonder what would happen if you started posting your uncensored opinions here under the the name “Special K”, or whatever!

Dr. Kendrick you have not expressed any comprehensive professional opinion about vaccinations as far as I can see. But from the tenor of these comments it would seem that you have some doubts.
Fair enough.

Hence this question comes to mind : your practice has a large number of older patients so I wonder if in your experience,there are any real benefits to folks over 70 having the shingles vaccination which is free in the UK for over 70’s.

Thank you for the reply.. As the vaccine being promoted in the UK for shingles seems to be specifically recommended for older folks ( rather than children ), and you have a lot of professional experience with this age group, I hope you are able to do so.

I had a friend who came down with shingles while travellling in Italy in her 60’s. An excruciating experience.; also forced to return home to Australia 4 weeks early.

Dont want alarm you or your friend as what I am about to describe does not really apply but I have had some first hand experience. My ex partner and dear friend had breast cancer around 6 years ago diagnosed. She went through the usual slash and burn treatment which had the effect of trashing her immune system. You stay on meds for this for a good 5 years and during this time she contracted shingles and was hospitalized. It developed into the worse case the doctors had ever seen, they were writing papers on it. After 4 months in hospital she eventually came out but was in constant pain from the damaged nerves in her face and neck. The pain killers turned her into a zombie and after 8 months she was rehospitalized and eventually died after a 4 more months in hospital. So why am I recalling all this to a bunch of strangers, well it struck me as I watched her go from a strong women to a person in tears when I last visited her, that the medics had no idea what to do when the treatments within their paradigm were blatantly failing her. The straight jacket they operate within we are told save us all from quacks and shyters but they also handcuff the doctors into a single alleopathic view of medicine. They sent her out initially with a immune system in the basement and did nothing to address this. Their idea that drugs will cure all and your body is merely a spectator was what killed her. Needless to say her cause of death went down as something unrelated to breast cancer which made me realise that all the stats on cancer deaths are complete fallacy and in no way reflect the truth. I miss her dearly. Brazil nuts for Christmas everyone ?.

smartersig: Your best post ever. Sincere thanks. I had a beloved principal (I believe called “head teacher” in the UK) receive an experimental treatment for breast cancer. Once vibrant with health, she didn’t last long after that. A terrible shock to all of us, like losing the captain of your ship.

Smartersig, thanks for your comment about shingles…It was a traumatic time for you as well as your friend….

When I posted my comment about the stress of a relationship or marriage ending, I did not have in mind those ending through illness & death. But these too are part of that field of discussion. Such emotional experiences can destroy our physical health and CVD seems to be also part of the process.

I hope that this Xmas you are in good company among good friends and family.

Bill in Oz: Shingles, like chicken pox is caused by the varicella virus. Apparently, once exposed, we harbor it throughout our lives. Something happens to rouse it from its slumber, causing shingles. I wonder if the stress of travel had anything to do with your friend’s shingles. Not pleasant, by all accounts. One of the suppositions for the rising rates of shingles since the varicella vaccine came into widespread use is that we need to have the circulating virus to prompt our immune system throughout life to prevent it from re-activating. Dr. Gary Goldman has done a lot of work on this. He was in charge of surveillance for the CDC for southern California when the vaccine was rolled out. His work is a must read! Sorry I don’t have a link, but it is easily searchable by his name and subject.

Why the pressure from several people? Have some patience. There are other blogs dealing with vaccines, and it is a very risky for any UK GP to dabble in. If you want to know how risky read Jayne Donegan’s web pages. It is a subject even more contentious than diets, and will inevitably come to the attention of the professionals who would make life somewhat unpleasant.

Bill in Oz: Sorry I don’t have the reference, but I recently read an article about the shingles vaccine. Those receiving it (and this is true other live-viral vaccines) can shed varicella virus for days, and as long as 2-3 weeks, causing chicken pox in others. In fact the Mayo Clinic hospital forbids anyone recently vaccinated with live-viral vaccines from visiting patients for this very reason.

It was mere curiosity which lead me to comment on Shingles..It is not free here in Oz for over 70’s and there has been no push here by government agencies to get older folk vaccinated..But from what has been said here, I think it will not be on my priority list any time soon.

AS for my status re chicken pox, I have no idea if I have ever had the vaccination. I do remember that my then young daughter was vaccinated against it.. But when she was 2-3 she came down with a mass of small sores on her chest which the specialist we were referred to said was chick pox. He treated them with a spray of liquid nitrogen to kill the infection. And it did I assume

Just to suggest an alternative (pro vaccination) possibility, could it be that the immune system of a child now is challenged in so many ways by the vaccinations, that their immune system is energised in some more general way, so that they are less likely to succumb to diseases they have not been vaccinated against – typhoid, cholera, etc etc etc? Is that why epidemics are now rare? Things used to be different – I remember (only in the sense of hearing about it on the news) the 1964 typhoid epidemic in Aberdeen. It seems we were more vulnerable back then.

I find the idea that childrens immune systems are challenged to the extent they are now able to overcome any number of diseases untenable. The US is one of the most vaccinated countries, yet they have significant cases of measles, pertussis, polio, etc and these are among those who have been vaccinated. India, 60,000 cases of polio a year, and only the vaccine version, go figure.

There are two main solutions to disease. One is sanitation, i.e. do not drink out of your chamber pot, or anyone elses. The other is nutrition, i.e. do not eat food manufactured by companies who have refined, processed and added large amounts of unnecessary substances. Make sure you have sufficient vitamins which now will probably be supplements singe agricultural land has been severely depleted of nutrients.

Vaccinations are more associated with allergies than with cures for diseases, hence the food allergies possibly caused by the inclusion of peanut oils in the vaccine as an example. With the various aluminium compounds which are there to promote an immune reaction, the body learns that these otherwise innocuous are something deserving a reaction, and that is what appears to happen. Aluminium is not needed in a diet, end of.

Please explain why I do not suffer from miscellaneous diseases, yet I was not vaccinated for most of them. Since changing to LCHF and getting grams of vitamin C a day, eating proper food, though unfortunately not all organic, I feel embarrassingly healthy, alert and never hungry despite missing a couple of meals some days.

The only people that benefit from vaccines are pharma companies and their shareholders, main-stream media and half-witted politicians.

David Bailey: Read “Dissolving Illusions.” The graphs clearly show the dramatic drop in mortality from infectious diseases during the first half of the twentieth century, when only the smallpox was widely used. This drop, thus, had nothing to do with vaccines, and everything to do with improved living conditions. Also read J.B. Handley’s hypothesis on the etiology of the alarming rise in autism in recent decades. This is a condition which didn’t exist until Leo Kanner in 1943, and Hans Asperger a year or so later published the first case reports. Age of Autism by Dan Olmsted and Mark Blaxill is an excellent history of this man-made disaster. Physicians have been writing and publishing case reports, particularly of interesting and novel conditions for centuries, but there is no prior record of a diagnosis similar to what Kanner and Asperger reported in the 1940’s. These were children born in the 1930’s, when Hg was first used in vaccines. One was a child of a pediatrician, who surely would have been “up to date” on his vaccines. The early cases bore a strong association with mercury, but today it is becoming clear that the aluminum salts used as adjuvants are likely the main culprit. In 1999 the FDA realized the amount of Hg children were receiving in vaccines was far higher than the exposure considered safe by the EPA. They held a secret meeting at the Simpsonwood Conference Center near Atlanta (where the CDC is located). We only know about this because the transcript was leaked. It is chilling. So mercury was gradually removed from most vaccines (but not the flu shot) for domestic use, but not for those WHO and Gates ship to Africa and Asia. At the same time the schedule was rapidly expanded so that the Al exposure quadrupled.

JDPatten, just the sort of thing big pharma likes to see broadcast as they can then bring out their magic cure vaccine. However, GP’s who regularly dealt with chicken pox cases were 8 times less likely to get shingles than those who did not.Herd immunity is continual refreshing of the immune system by natural means, and good nutrition and sanitation. In my opinion it is not getting another dose of disease, animal cells, some from immortal cell lines (cancer to you and me) and a dose of toxic metals (aluminium).

I never had chicken pox as a child, nor did I have the vaccine. At age 25, after returning to London from a skiing holiday where several of the women on the tour bus developed shingles, I broke out in blisters.

I had no idea what was wrong with me, so popped in to my local National Health clinic, where the two doctors were, ironically enough, South African (I am South African).

Dr Saloojee stayed behind his desk as he examined me from afar. Then he crossed to the connecting door and whispered to his colleague Dr Jhabjay, who took a quick peek at me then slammed the door shut.

Dr Saloojee returned to his desk and pushed a prescription over to me, always maintaining a safe distance. “You either have chicken pox or you have smallpox, here is a script for calamine lotion.” he announced.

The calamine lotion didn’t do a damned bit of good. I just had to tough it out and try not to scratch until the pox cleared up after a couple of weeks. Needless to say, I didn’t have much of a social life while I was covered in blisters from top to toe.

Incidentally, later that year (1973 or ‘4) someone in Britain did die of smallpox. A laboratory worker who was infected by an accidental release of the virus.

Martin Back: Mysteries abound in the world of infectious diseases. While most are actually infected by a given microbe, only some are symptomatic. Is it possible you had a sub-clinical case of chicken pox in childhood? By the way there was no vaccine for it until all of us were well into the expanding-waistline age. Amusing about the doctors.

Here is a paper that elucidates some of your ideas. And some others.
As for me, I’m waiting until my GP deems the new iteration of more effective shingles vaccine to be safe and effective. He’s conservative in that respect — waiting until there’s actual clinical experience before going ahead.
Then, I’m getting it!
(Do you surround yourself with poxed children whenever you get the chance?)

As far as Big Pharma is concerned, here is the current pricing. Note that in most cases the price is for a package of multiple doses.
Seems to me that they’re making their money on the likes of PCSK9 inhibitors, various new (and questionable) cancer drugs, a range of monoclonal antibodies addressing all sorts of inflammation (while ignoring the CAUSE of inflammation!). They really don’t need these vaccines to pad their bottom line. Pad their egos — maybe.

In order to find the Professor Exley article simply type; naturalnewschrisexley and it will take you right there. I use duckduckgo.com, and it gives you the results you are looking for, unlike google, which often buries them deep.

Bill in Oz: I don’t know. I vaguely remember Firefox from when I was using Windows, but I’ve divorced myself from everything Gates. Even if you can’t install duckduckgo, try typing it into your search engine. This might work.

If anything ‘Tech’ is independent, Mozilla Firefox is/was such a browser – but recent changes call that into question for me. However, there is a web site for DuckDuckGo, you can bookmark/favourite it – and use that – but better is to assign it as one of the search engines in whatever browser. Then unless you choose to use another option, it will be your default.
They say they do not track or sell your search data. Google are based upon doing so.
The use of big data goes far beyond J Edgar Hoover’s files of dirt on everyone who had or might ever have any influence, and the first chapter of ‘silent weapons for quiet wars’ pertains in principle if you can stomach it.

The medical model is also inducing and selling our sickness to Pharma – while we get services of sometimes life-saving value but along with it a whole mess of entanglement in dependency under governmental or even global regulations.

AH Notepad: By the way BMJ is reporting the size of the English wine glass has grown more than 600% between 1700 (70 mL) and 2017 (450mL). They know how to toss one back! And their heart disease rate should drop like a rock.

As we know, stress/strain results in responses from the HPA axis and a fight or flight response, mild or strong. Following repetition of this our reactions become conditioned to a variable degree. So a normally helpful process which stops us having to give repeated consideration to everything we do, can trigger behaviour in an automatic way. If this is prolonged, we can pick up more peripheral associations which can trigger the response.
It is because of this that people can have stress symptoms without having had events which should reasonably precipitate them. “I have these things wrong with me but I don’t feel stressed and nothing particularly untoward has happened to me.” The stress was earlier on, but the body has learned to react in a certain way through its nerve pathways.
A very helpful book is
“Get the Life you Love Now” by Phil Parker

“The seventh day Adventists are (theoretically vegetarian, but eat lots of eggs and cheese and suchlike). In Okinawa they are famed for eating everything of a pig, apart from the squeak – and are known in Japan as the ‘pig eaters.’ In Sardinia they eat a high animal/animal fat diet. Your general point, however, is valid. As those who read this blog probably know, I am not a great believer in any particular [macronutrient] diet being healthy, or not healthy. Other than the perfect storm. Highly processed foods, high in carbohydrates, associated with no exercise whatsoever and excessive calorific intake. [Pretty much the diet of, much of, the Western World].

My view – with regard to diet. Eat food that looks like real food, not too much, take exercise, chill.”

“…My own principle is relatively straightforward. How did we used to live, or how are we designed to live. Mostly outside, mostly walking about or moving about, in the sun, mostly eating whatever (natural foodstuffs) we can get hold of, mostly socialising in smaller, supportive, tribes/villages. It seems to me whenever we study groups of people who live like that, they are very healthy and live for a long time. See under the Blue Zones. Of course it helps a great deal to have access to fresh water, a good medical system, excellent sewage systems, antibiotics, medical support in childbirth, access to year round foodstuffs, certain (vaccinations), good treatment for broken bones. In short, take the good bits from modern medicine/society, and retain as many of the good bits of traditional lifestyle.”

I am not too much bothered about discussions on diet, although I would like it if people would start looking more closely at other drivers of CVD. If Ancel Keys achieved one thing it was to move all discussions on CVD onto diet (of one sort or another) and/or raised blood cholesterol. Here is where the battles are continuously fought. It takes time to get people to realise that there another, empty, playing field next door where the major causes of CVD are lying waiting to be discussed and argued over. Moving from the diet/heart playing field to the empty playing field takes time.

Dr Kendrick
That is a very fair comment. Since starting to read your blog, I have moved on from taking Statins, and how much better I feel, I have, I hope moved to eating what I really enjoy, and like to think I am ready for the empty playing field next door. Reading books by people who lived a full life for a long time, makes me think you may be on to something.

Mr. Chris: He is on to something. He is not only a medical doctor, but a teacher. In allowing us to surmise, go off on tangents, make wild speculations, and so forth, he is doing what the best teachers do. Patience and an open mind are essential to leading the flock to greener pastures.

But then he would be acting on your behalf and not mine and others. Personally I disagree, the evidence surrounding diabetics and HD and that data from Dr Kraft suggests that food is a primary driver of HD. How else are people getting varying degrees of pre diabetes…. stress ?

I do believe stress can be subtle and often unrecognised in life. I think its been shown that people living closer to airports have higher degrees of HD and I know that I feel much more relaxed when I am out of earshot of traffic noise.

Smartersig,
he is the moderator, and I doubt if he does it by votes or the amount of sound people produce.
We can all comment, if I don’t agree with someone in general, I very much skim over what they write.
By the way you recently said something on the lines of “you meat eaters……………” this reveals more about where you are coming from, than where I am going to.

I feel that the playing field might be a vacant lot in downtown Newark – or might not – and here I am, blindfolded in the woods of rural Massachusetts. Pin the tail on . . . I don’t even know what.

We already have the huge challenge of comprehending the stress/strain thing enough to affect it. That needs more work.
We have nutritional tidbits such as: limit refined carbs&sugar, get enough C to keep ahead with healing, take what you can find that’ll bolster NO, take what you can find that’ll keep your blood from clotting too readily, take time to relax and enjoy those meals (stress/strain again).
Exercise enough. Not too much.
(What have I skipped?)

Are there more new playing fields you haven’t hinted at (we haven’t stumbled on) yet?

I know. The best way to learn is to struggle and find one’s own way. You’re hoping we will.
But we’re mostly blind here, Boss. I am. Give us a braille sign-post at least. Please.

JDPatten: Keep reading, keep thinking. I think we’re all a bit blind at times, but Dr. Kendrick is a masterful teacher, and he is leading us to knowledge, to our own personal discoveries. Aging ain’t for sissies, but this wonderful community has certainly led to improved health for me.

“Since starting to read your blog, I have moved on from taking Statins, and how much better I feel, I have, I hope moved to eating what I really enjoy, and like to think I am ready for the empty playing field next door.”

I remember once attending the surgery for yet more blood tests to try to discover what had gone wrong with me. I said to the nurse that I was feeling my age, and she tried to urge me to feel more positive.

Now I visit the surgery far less often, and one time I bumped into the same nurse, who commented that she hadn’t seen me for ages! I explained that I was well again, now I had given up the Simvastatin!

Great for you David ! I had the identical experience after I stopped taking Simvastatin last February….And like you my attendance at the doctor’s has also dropped off…It was almost weekly for a while last year and early this year..Now it’s as needed again…

The only things we can control (affecting CVD) are (1) diet; (2) exercise; (3) stress. Anything else?

I think that’s why diet comes up so much: it’s one aspect we can control.

We can control exercise, but often that too is out of our hands. Start running, get injured, what do you do? (Personally, I have back issues, torn rotator cuff muscles, bad knees/hips from jogging, etc.)

We can control stress, but it’s difficult. Right now in the US, we have such a stress-filled relationship between the Republicans, Democrats, reporters, FOX news, the President, that it’s stressful just turning on the TV. I’ve given up trying to listen to news, it’s so bad. We can control stress somewhat, but other times (like now), it’s out of our hands.

The main thing I can control is diet. For me, that’s low carb + intermittent fasting. It may not be the same for others; so be it. While I try to control exercise and stress, many times that’s a bit tougher to do.

Ha, ha. I say, kill the television. Throw it out the back door and watch it roll down the hill.
In my case, I had no choice. I either change or die. I knew stress was a major cause of my cancer. I stopped all negative conversations and media. I had been at the time quite interested in all these conflicts.
Now, I have found much else to focus on and read. Only a couple of blogs made the cut. This one did. If I stop posting sometimes, it’s because I’ve been so busy doing research, as a person who doesn’t follow the chemo routine has quite a steep learning curve ahead of them.
I’ve had 3 significant psychological breakthroughs in the past 3 weeks or so, including getting rid of some anger I had carried a long time and was UNABLE to stop feeling. Gone now. Such peace. People avoid going within, but oh, the reward. Like a sleepwalker awakening.

AnnaM: Excellent. I never had much use for TV. Don’t even know how to operate it any more! Cancelled the newspaper 2 1/2 years ago. Our election last year helped me realize we’ve been fed mostly propaganda our whole lives by the media, so I pay no attention at all to most news and all politics. But I feel wonderful, calm and relaxed, and I ascribe a large part of the reason to what I’ve learned from Dr. Kendrick and many of the commenters. Can’t wait to hear the little reindeer hooves on the roof tonight! Merry Christmas all!

JDPatten.
I am sorry you find the discussion regarding diet as tedious. At the start of this blog around 9th December, I was rather quick to voice my opinion that, thank goodness, we can now disregard any type of diet as to having much of an influence on cardiac health.
You express your opinion on what you consider is a good diet, and fellow bloggers continue to voice their opinion too. It would appear that we just cannot get away from our feelings that food has an enormous influence on all sorts of health, and especially cardiac health. The fact that Dr K’s stats tell us different, ( and I don’t doubt him), but many of us speak from personal, encouraging experiences, by changing our diet.
I suggest that you skim over the blogs regarding diet, and focus on the ideas that you feel are more important. I value all, (and that includes your contributions), on this blog, as they help me to sort out fact from fiction.

Jennifer: I completely agree. I’ve learned an enormous amount from Dr. Kendrick (no need now to attend medical school!), and I’ve learned from most of the commenters. Like science is a process, learning is a process as well. And good for our health.

Oooops, Jennifer.
Not me. It was a reasonable response.
I would clarify, though, that the thoughts on diet I quoted above were Dr Kendrick’s.

I would also like to highlight Dr Kendrick’s remarks on relative importances of stuff:

“In all the dietary studies I have seen, we are talking about increased, or reduced, risks in the order of 1.12, or 0.89. Which means a twelve per cent increased risk, or an eleven per cent reduced risk. These figures may just reach statistical significance, but they are so small as to be, to all intents and purposes, completely irrelevant.

On the other hand, a thirteen-fold increase in risk [of death from financial stress] can be written another way. This is a 1,300% increase in risk. Compare this to anything to do with diet, or raised cholesterol, or blood pressure, or blood sugar or – any of the other mainstream risk factors. It is like comparing Mount Everest to a mole hill.

Yet, and yet, attempting to divert attention, and discussion, away from diet, or cholesterol, or sub-fractions of cholesterol, or suchlike seems an impossible task. People may say that they cannot see how stress can cause CVD. To which I say, every single step has been worked out, many times, by many different people.”

DOCTOR (looks at test results): “Hmmmm. Are you under any sort of stress?”
PATIENT: “Oh doctor, you have no idea. Terrible stress, just terrible.”
DOCTOR: “Well, you are thirteen times more likely to have a heart attack.”
PATIENT: “Aaaaaargh! Now I’m even more stressed!”

DOCTOR (looking at my test results): “Whoa. That’s the highest CAC score I’ve ever seen!”
ME: (Don’t know what I said, but you can imagine stress levels.)
DOCTOR (Pulls out his smartphone with all the risk apps; shows me. Taps in a statin prescription.)
ME (Scared crazy, I take the stuff — until I’m tired of being sick. Quit the pills. Quit the DOCTOR.

In the BMJ (British Medical Journal started out over 170 years ago). Look at the long list of authors. Our study reports a major new indication for vitamin D supplementation Vitamin D supplementation reduced the risk of acute respiratory tract infection among all participants Vitamin D supplementation was safe Benefit was greater in those receiving daily or weekly vitamin D
See table #3
Influenza vaccination (proportion of participants experiencing at least one acute respiratory tract infection)
No vaccination 119/163 Yes vaccination 286/396
About double the people got vaccinated got sick No vaccination for mehttp://www.bmj.com/content/356/bmj.i6583

I wonder what a depression might be but I don’t believe I suffered any (for whatever reason) although the situation was extremely stressful to say the least. The subject was never brought up during my follow up meetings with the cardiologist. On the contrary I was always in a “fighting mood” defending my alternative approach.

Goran, I have also learned that depression and anxiety are also common after heart surgery of any kind. After my husband’s exercise rehab, there is a discussion post workout in Cardiac gym and all of the patients say they are teary or anxious or depressed and were not before the operation. These px are 10 days – 6 weeks post op. Very interesting indeed.

I am getting depression just following this blog. JDPatten is tired of the diet proliferation, that doesn’t bother me, but it does get perplexing when some people question someone elses position, put their position, and a few days later they seem to have an about face with no explanation. Very depressing. Call for more vitamin C 🙂

However, on the bright side, a big thank you to Gary Ogden for sending me off to look at Chris Exley. I have already learnt some useful information which I have passed on to people suffering possible aluminium poisoning. It’s great knowing more than most dieticians and many GPs just by following up information on this blog. So thank you Dr. K.

Firstly Dr K my sympathy for the loss of your cousin even though he finished his life having been engaged in something he loved rather than being on what I like to call the ‘medical merry-go-round’ the loss is no less real and painful.
I am very interested in this subject not that I have a cardio issue in fact I am very fit and so far in my 72th year going along well but I am interested in why things happen and how people seem to fail to observe the co-relation between events and health. Some years ago I met the CEO of the Victims of Crime here in Adelaide who made the observation that no one seemed to see but he had observed that victims of crime often had a bad outcome later on; and folk would say poor old so & so first he’s held up or whatever and now he’s had a major heart attack or stroke how unlucky. He felt that the compensation should go further and be higher.
My thoughts have always been that people are a lot more fragile than we think and can be impacted very badly by systemic mismanagement of all sorts. This doesn’t only apply to our First Nation people but to those diagnosed with mental illness of any type, and the elderly. I live in a very economically challenged area with a continuous record of unemployment about 3rd generation now with a large population of Indigenous folk, poor Australians many with low or no education and now we have a mix of refugees from various lands. I work at the local hospital we have large trauma, cardiac, obstetrics and mental health services some of these services are directed to Indigenous folk particularly obstetrics in an effort to ‘close the gap’ as they not only have a lower life expectancy but they have one of if not the highest infant mortality rates in the world.
I have no intention of joining the discussion as to whose fault it is this is a continuous discussion here and usually the issue of money enters the conversation and whether they get more than we do. I have no idea and I don’t care but, I will make these couple of points which I feel should be made: We have never been de-humanised as they have until the referendum in the late 60’s they had no rights as people they were protected persons with no rights over their own person, family and in the case of Albert Namitjira the artist even his own art. His family has just won a court case to have the rights over his art returned to his family apparently the Australian Government sold those rights to a publishing firm for I think about $8000 when he died in the late 50’s. They are believed to have made millions. As for the atomic tests the Royal Commission exposed that they did not move all as they are a nomadic people and so some were caught up in the tests some were injured and lost their sight and some died apparently it was reported that if any bodies were found they were placed in the fauna tent with any other animals found, it should not be surprising to anyone that they are still a bit sad, lost and depressed as are Indigenous folk the world over. The same disenfranchised feelings are evident among white Australians where I live and work and so mental illness, heart disease, cancer and T2 diabetes are rampant.
As to diet well it is no good getting stressed about diet I know some get frantic I never worried much about it until a few years ago when everyone I knew was pushing soy they got so upset that I was eating dairy and butter ( we only eat Flora) as Dr K has previously said bacon sandwiches to them. I do however try to limit sugar.
I agree wholeheartedly with being grateful and finding joy in life with people, animals, learning new things and being creative it is good medicine for heart and brain. An old proverb says ‘A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit saps one’s strength’ Pr.17.22. Thanks again for all your hard work and thanks for sharing. P.S. Nearly forgot my local supermarket is offering me 400 bonus points if I purchase some cholesterol lowering Weetabix this week they never give up, I will give it a miss as I don’t eat cereal and my cholesterol is already so low that it highlighted on my lipid studies if they cannot get you at the doctors they will try at the supermarket.

But you, Goran, having survived your metabolic syndrome MI, discarded medical advice you found irrelevant or harmful and found your own self-reliant way through diet and supplementation, are clearly thriving emotionally and physically.
“Your own way” might simply be your route to solidly establishing a strong psychological base against . . . stress.
Hmm?

My summary of health for me is: Keep background insulin low, hyperinsulinemia is a silent killer and destructive to almost every organ in the body + DR Kendricks HPA theory. ( and stay away from too many med tests and too much med in general) So I eat almost zero carb to low carb for the most part, enjoy life and stay away from Dr’s unless something acute. I am in the air a lot and travel extensively so I have all my vaccinations up to date all the time. Japanese Encephalitis and Yellow fever are things I do not want to gamble with. I even had rabies shots for bike riding in India due to high number of dog attacks on bike riders! Not willing to gamble with Rabies either.

I also do fasting 2 – 3 times a year up to 3 days, I don’t eat until lunch usually. All blood biomarkers excellent and CRP is 0.8 LDL particle count low tig/hdl is super low ie .7 I eat almost all meat of beef, lamb, seafood, shellfish, cheese, yogurt, offal and a few vegies here and there. I eat seasonal fruit if I get the urge. No mineral deficiencies including Vit C. Offal and fresh meat has Vit c. The food is luxurious and reminiscent of old menus from France pre WW1! I feel great and enjoy the food immensely, never hungry! I exclude most grains, veg oil and that is about it! I love wine with dinner… on the plane I take that time to fast or to eat only the cheese and meats…( I fly biz as staff travel) I exercise outdoors…. THE END!

My brother just arrived for a visit with us over Christmas. He has been severely struck by cancer (as his wife who recently passed) snd has experienced comprehensive surgery. He has a very unhealthy life stile and is certainly overweight – here you can talk about beer-belly!

Before my brother arrived I had made an over night bone broth on wild boar and also today made stock on in it by adding meat from the boar and some vegetables to improve the palatability.

After the meal we couldn’t resist pulled out our blood glucose meter and on me and my wife we then measured 5.9 an hour after the meal while the reading from my brother was 4.9. As Malcom is stating diets seem to be useless 🙂

Goran, your brother with lowish blood glucose … it can be normal as his body fights the cancer …it takes lots of energy. As well, some cancers are high consumers of glucose ie Warburg Effect… I feel so badly for him, I hope he can achieve a remission for many years… I keep my BG levels around 4.8 to 5.1 HbAic was 4.9 last time I had it done! A friend at the hospital did a 4 hour troponin test on me, I was there anyway with husband, It was a super low 2. So all that LCHF seems to be keeping any marker I can measure for CVD super low! Here is a great read re Toponin and sitting too much https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/20/well/move/why-sitting-may-be-bad-for-your-heart.html?_r=0 Seems sitting raises troponin levels and damages the heart….

This backs up my favorite CAD theory – When you eat, your blood sugar level rises. The higher it rises, the more sugar sticks to cells. Once sugar is stuck on a cell, it cannot get off. It is converted to a poison called sorbitol that destroys that cell. http://www.drmirkin.com/diabetes/9887.html

Radall, when one is in charge then stress is less. You are in charge of your health, not the health care system.
What can be done to reduce impact of stress: healthy diet, exercise, meditate, sleep, sunshine, bit of alcohol for some, plus other things discussed in this blog. Stress could be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Agree with your concern about high post prandial blood sugar levels as a cause of CVD. I suspect that hyperglycaemia is involved in stress response by destroying cells in hypothalamus, pituitary gland, adrenal cortex, endothelium and every other tissue. One pathway of cell destruction is excess ROS causing mitochondrial dysfunction, less ATP, less energy equals less vitality.

@annielaurie98524.. I have just reread your comment about ‘male humans’ introducing cats into new locations like Australia.

Frankly it is a rant. And sexist in the extreme. I also find it very odd given that you ( who has a cat image as your own gravitar symbol) make such a rant about ‘He’ & ‘His’ & ‘Him’. Clearly you are a cat lover. And domesticated cats have traditionally always been associated with women & home making.

May I wish you all a happy and peaceful Christmas and new year. Did my share of duties over the festive period as lots still do of course, not just health workers, train drivers, postal workers,GP surgeries, pharmacies. What a lively, spirited, blog Dr Kendrick, may there be lots more of the same, so keep well, stay strong. All my good wishes to you and your loved ones.

HI Dr. K, happy holidays to all.
I have been chasing a lot of rabbit holes and drilling down and have some more scientific papers reviewed and I am coming up with some findings of interest.

We have some big hitters for increased HA risk:
Upper respiratory illness – 17x
Financial stress – 13x
Eating disorders – 9x
HIV – 5.6x
Preeclampsia – 4x
Lupus/Arthritis – 2x
There is only one common thread for all of these, they result in a dysfunctional immune system!!!!

Anorexia is particularly life threatening with a 9x increase in cardiac issues! Cardiovascular complications in eating disorder include bradycardia, QT interval prolongation, orthostatic hypotension, increased vagal tone, mitral valve prolapse (as a consequence of weight loss with an associated reduction in left ventricle mass, resulting in a relatively large mitral valve), possible alterations in myocardial contractility, and reduction in left ventricular wall thickness, among others.http://cdn.intechweb.org/pdfs/29055.pdf

The immune response to heart attacks- the team analyzed data from patients with and without coronary artery disease, which revealed that the former group had significantly higher numbers of lymphocytes in the pericardial adipose tissue than patients whose hearts were healthy.https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171128120147.htm

Significant financial stress associated with 13-fold higher odds of having a heart attack Self-reported stress levels were common, with 96% of heart attack patients reporting any level of stress, and 40% reporting severe stress levels. There was a three-fold increased risk of myocardial infarction if a patient had experienced any level of depression (from mild to extremely severe) in the previous month compared to those with no depression.https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171109093303.htm

Cardiovascular disease: The immune response to heart attacks – The damage caused by a heart attack triggers an inflammatory reaction which degrades the affected tissue. This response is orchestrated by immune cells that reside in the nearby pericardial adipose tissue. Heart attack victims had significantly higher numbers of lymphocytes in the pericardial adipose tissue than patients whose hearts were healthy.https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171128120147.htm

Depression and cardiovascular disease in women: is there a common immunological basis? A theoretical synthesis
We suggest that depression and CVD are both inflammatory disorders and that their cooccurrence may be related to how the HPA axis, the serotinergic system, and the RAAS via angiotensin II are affected by the excess secretion of proinflammatory cytokines.http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1753944714521671

Immune Modulation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis during Viral Infection
cytokines, emanating from the immune system can have profound effects on the neuroendocrine system, in particular the hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. HPA activation by cytokines (via the release of glucocorticoids), in turn, has been found to play a critical role in restraining and shaping immune responses.http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/vim.2005.18.41

The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis and Viral Infection
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis plays an important immunomodulatory role during viral infection. Activation of the HPA axis ultimately leads to elevated plasma levels of glucocorticoid (GC) hormones with the ability to mediate adaptive behavioral, metabolic, cardiovascular and immune system effects.http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/088282403322017884

Estrogen and brain aging in men and women: Depression, energy, stress
Besides providing new insights into biological energy and aging, the recognition that estrogen activates the stress hormone system–the pituitary-adrenal system–also provides clear insights into other problems, such as the polycystic ovary syndrome, hirsutism, adrenal hyperplasia, Cushing’s disease, etc.http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/estrogen-age-stress.shtml

Upper Respiratory illness and HPA axis
Reactivity and Vulnerability to Stress-Associated Risk for Upper Respiratory Illness
Conclusions: Acute HPA and immune responses to laboratory stressors are markers of how vulnerable people are to the increased risk for URI associated with stressors in the natural environment.
high cortisol reactors with high levels of life events had a greater incidence of verified URI than did high reactors with low levels of life events and low reactors irrespective of their life event scores.https://www.scribd.com/document/37626165/Re-Activity-and-Vulnerability-to-Stress-Associated-Risk-for-Upper-Respiratory-Illness

There are dozens more references about the HPA axis in ageing, disease, hormones, glucocorticoids, glucose, insulin, infections, etc. But based on the wide differences in the issues listed above for increased HA activity, the common thread is immune system dysfunction due to starvation, pregnancy, stress, illness!

I take these numbers with a huge pinch of salt. There are so many confounders. Stressed people are probably sleeping badly, eating junk food, neglecting exercise, smoking and taking pills, etc etc. How do you disentangle the role of stress alone from that mix of risk factors?

Stressed people get heart attacks. So do unstressed people, like my own father. Comfortably retired, children grown and self-supporting, happily married to his second wife, experienced a heart attack on the golf course at the age of 67, and died three days later of a stroke.

Was it the stress of building his law practice from scratch? Maybe it was the stress of serving in the western desert and the Italian campaign, particularly the battle of Monte Cassino, during WWII?

If stress causes a heart attack, at what point does it strike — when it reaches a certain intensity; when it accumulates to a certain level; when there are several different stressors all acting at once; when our system is weakened due to inflammation or infection? Do different people in identical situations experience identical stress, or different stress, and if different, why? It’s all so vague. At this point, I think the only thing we can usefully say about stress is, try not to get too stressed about things.

Martin Back: Good analysis. My father survived seven years after the war. He was an ambulance driver during the Battle of the Bulge, so he saw terrible wounds every day. Must have been very stressful. He came home from work one day, lay down on the bed and died of a heart attack. Perhaps having three young children was an additional stressor? Perhaps he got mad about something at work that day? No way to ever know, but I have a vivid mental photograph of the living room of the house that day, just as I have the same for the day they murdered our beloved JFK fifty four years ago.

There is an issue which we have not discussed : stress in our personal lives. For example marriage or relationship breakdown and loss of contact with a child or children.

I myself left my first wife after 27 years marriage ( 19 years ago) because of the shear stress of continuing to live with her. Towards the end of those years I felt continually bullied and harassed and of course I responded to this by arcing up. Extraordinary stresses and strains. Leaving was a life saver for me !
But leaving also set in train a whole other set of stresses with our children and the extended family.

My view is this is not the right place to discuss specific examples of stress, except to identify them as stress inducers. We already know stress is a factor, but we also know that it is oxidative stress and that nutrition is a fix for the problem. Is there some benefit in discussing peoples personal circumstances in relationships? Surely there are more suitable sites for this.

A H While I agree that probably none of us here have professional qualifications or experience in helping those who have gone through a relationship or marriage breakdown.

However I suggest that this is ( one of ) the Other Field (s) that Dr K mentioned a little while ago in a comment. He was suggesting that we move on over and start discussing CVD on those fields..rather than staying stuck in the diet stuff forever.

And interestingly, Frederica has presented us with a ink suggesting that a ‘broken heart’ can definitely cause heart disease.

Andy. I agree with you about sweet sugary drinks and processed foods (adulterated with lots of hidden sugar or fructose. ) causing health problems. And I think that industrial fats have a related impact as well.

But their are a. host of diet dictocrats out there offering salvation from every disease under the sun including CVD. Some examples :Bill Davis; Stephen Gundry; & even Dennis Mangan over on Rogue Health, who’s writing I mostly admire but who now strongly recommends not eating any fruit at all.

And the Diet Dictocrats all operate on a similar psychology : make us fearful of food that has been part of human diet for many generations.

I note there are a few persons who are genetically or microbiometrically predisposed to get ill after eating some common foods. But such persons are a small minority.

Meanwhile there are the rest of us : virtually all older folk have a degree of CVD. And it’s frankly seems to part of uncaring Mother Nature’s Programmed Aging. For more on this go look at Josh Mitteldorf’s web site or read his 2106 published book. It is the scientific research cutting edge.

In fact so cutting edge that it is disputed by some ‘scientists’ who feel they have been ‘checkmated’ and are now out of the game. I suspect that their own pet field research is now irrelevant and do not like this loss of face at all.

Yes, you are right Gary. I meant to say D3. As for Viagra, here it is only available on prescription. Which is why the Internet market exists I guess.. But who wants to go there ?

Also re Viagra : if women suffer CVD for similar physiological causes. to men, then the same solutions should work for them also. But which of the women among us would be willing to ask a Pharmacist or Doctor for Viagra ? It has been tainted by being labelled an “Erectile disfunction” drug.

Now that really is a major stuff up by the whole sales & profit driven pharmaceutical industry : half the potential buyers are screened out by gender.

Though he spoke very quickly over some hours of video on ‘what should I eat?’ – I found Dr Gonzales perspective on diets for health or healing to be significant – but
his premise was more on the current or indeed more general state of sympathetic/parasympathetic balance (or indeed imbalance).
So in that sense what you are best doing is that which fits your individual needs – which may not at all be obvious as needs, and even less so when a one size fits all approach is applied.
In self-education for awakened self-responsibility, I see the journey within all the facets of information or protocol, to be a growing of the exercise of discernment and trust. This is very different from putting trust in something wishful. I also feel that the extension of conscious trust is a self empowering act. Where ‘blind’ trust invites a dis-empowerment. At its most fundamental level trust in life is not fighting it but open to being moved. Fear of being out of control can block the movement of our very being – and I have no reason to doubt that that can and will affect the heart, the breathing, the thinking and a cascade of progeny. And a dam upon feelings can initially break to a sense of overwhelm by the feared. Hence inner preparation grows a way of changing somewhat gracefully.
A diet of gratitude is a contextual sense of receiving and sharing in life. I don’t think that diet on its own can leverage or force an outcome. Everything works together and so in truth there is nothing ‘on its own’. Cutting out junk opens a clearer sense in which to make better choices. But the other aspect is the need to nurture our gut so that we can digest and assimilate, fend of or clear dis-ease conditions, and PERHAPS generate ways to not succumb to increasingly toxic environmental exposure. In other words I sense the gut is part of consciousness. I see a pervasive anti-biotic influence playing a part in a negative synergy of disease.

I agree with your thoughts about binra, AH Notepad. We have had one or two on this blog who write nonsense dressed up in pretentious language. It’s a waste of time trying to extract the meaning of what they write.

I find Binras postings as convoluted as most people but I do not think the answer is to start to lean towards being venimous towards him/her. It gets close to bullying and I think we can either ignore, combat with humour of ask the moderator to act although personally I just skip his/her postings.

We can hardly engage in critical discussion when you write in such incomprehensible language. Nothing is clear in what you write. If English is not your first language, get some help in writing clear posts.

Bill in Oz: Good idea. I am very fortunate not to have had any serious stresses in my life among family or extended family, but this seems to be all too common, especially at Christmas time, which sees them gather together. I’ve seen so many neighbors and friends of family pass away in the period leading up to Christmas in recent years. Just last weekend, the father of my daughter’s friend died of Amyloidosis, which is so rare they have no idea how to treat it (he was getting chemo). He was in his late fifties or early sixties. I suspect toxic ingredients in the experimental vaccines they gave the soldiers in the Gulf War played a role, but there is no way to know. Such damages can take months, years, decades to manifest.

Gary I wonder, did your father ever talk of what happened to him in those 7 years after the war ? So many returned servicemen here put it away completely and refused to discuss it at all – with the exception of when they were with their war service mates in private.

For my dad beer was his escape both during the war and in the 4 decades afterwards. An escape from what we now know & diagnose as PTSD – Post traumatic Stress Disorder.

Bill in Oz: I don’t know. I was not yet 4 when he died, and I never asked my mother. He was a smoker, as were most soldiers in WWII. He had a bit of a rough childhood since he was second youngest of ten, and the older brothers were rascals.

This IS the right place to discuss the life histories of those we know who managed to incorporate their challenging life stressors into a long healthy, happy and productive life.
Some are able to do that. Some are not, even having had much less in the way of life-stress.
How do they manage it?
I, for one, would like to understand it.

Christmas time is a certainly a very stressful time and seems to confirm Malcolm’s hypothesis about stress as THE cause for MI.

Personally my MI was certainly caused by severe stress during Christmas/New Year 20 years ago.

I have also personally witnessed an acute deadly MI the day before Christmas at a resting place when I was on the road to a family reunion.

A friend of mine also succumbed to a MI actually on Christmas eve which is the main Christmas celebration day in Sweden. No doubt that he was severely stressed at this occasion.

Still with my brother now in my house during Christmas I feel very relaxed. No angina!
Might though be the nice scotch whisky (Talisker 10 years this time) we have already shared in front of my fire place. As it is stated in my medical journal at our hospital: “Does not take any of our prescribed medicines. Uses alkohol as medicine!”

Göran
My son teaches where you used to teach. He says it is avert stressful place, continuous reorganisation, pressure from outside for all sorts of things.
I think work can be very stressful, I am much more relaxed than when I worked.

You might refer to my “Alma Mater”, the Chalmers University i Gothenburg.

I can associate with what you are telling about a stressed staff there but to be honest I myself loved the teaching part of my job at the university during my first 10 years since I had such a positive feedback from the students.

I also greatly enjoyed my last ten years during which I was tutoring my Ph.D. students as an adjunct professor. This kind of scientific research activity suited my personality well I would say.

In essence it was rather the severe stress I experienced in the business climate of the aerospace company I spent those 25 years in between these two periods of my life + a very stressful family situation before my MI which took it’s toll.

I’m pretty sure binra is an AI chatbot. Binra’s posts have an ‘uncanny valley’ quality — superficially deeply philosophical, but when you try to parse the statements, they are unconnected and meaningless.

Martin Back, you seem likely to be right about Binra. What is the point of an AI chatbot, and why is it on here? Someone must put it on and activate it? We can ignore it, but it’s still rather disturbing.

Protective proteins reduce damage to blood vessels – They discovered that two proteins in the blood, fetuin-A and albumin, can slow down the uptake of CaP crystals by blood vessel cells, reducing the release of calcium ions and protecting against damage.https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140521180026.htm

Scientists find culprit responsible for calcified blood vessels in kidney disease – Humphreys and his colleagues showed that in healthy conditions, Gli1 cells play an important role in healing damaged blood vessels by becoming new smooth muscle cells, which give arteries their ability to contract. But with chronic kidney disease, these cells likely receive confusing signals and instead become a type of bone-building cell called an osteoblast, which is responsible for depositing calcium.https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160908130842.htm

Mitochondrial protein in cardiac muscle cells linked to heart failure, study finds – reducing an outer mitochondrial membrane protein, FUN14 domain containing 1 (FUNDC1), in cardiac muscle cells, also known as cardiomyocytes, activates and worsens cardiac dysfunction. Also, disrupting how FUNDC1 binds to a particular receptor inhibited the release of calcium from another cell structure, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), into the mitochondria of these cells and resulted in mitochondrial dysfunction, cardiac dysfunction and heart failurehttps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171205155412.htm

If you are willing…
I have read several of the pages of this blog series and their comments and I haven’t yet seen anything here on the vortexing nature of the blood flow, That blood plasma involves (electrical) plasma physics is far more complex and intelligent in its operation than the model of a liquid plumbing pumping system.
Is this an interesting read or not?http://www.rsarchive.org/RelArtic/Marinelli/
There’s another related on the heart musculature linked at the bottom of the above.

I have seen (and could probably find again) a report on the use of mechanically vortexing blood samples to eliminate or drastically reduce the ‘clumping’ of molecules/cells that can be otherwise mistaken as platelets (and which may be a pre-cursor for such but that is my speculation in the moment). This clumping applied no less to lifeless water.

Reduction of vitality – life force – may well equate to reduced voltage – at cellular and capillary levels. ‘Pollacks EZ water’ studies demonstrate that certain near Infra red frequency bands have effects on the bllod and intracellular fluid that increases voltage – and consequently increased mitochondrial function and capillary flow.
I sense that the vortex or helical spiralling nature of blood flow has qualities that deserve to be considered in regard to heart failure.

Though primarily in the field of living rivers, Schauberger brought forth and implemented nature copying technology that has yet to be openly embraced or ‘scientifically’ understood.
Plasma physics is alive and well in certain respects – but kept from public consumption with regard to the scalar nature of its physics – macro to micro.

Another piece from ‘left field’:
Frank Chester has ‘brought forth’ a new form of tetrahedron and given his name – a ‘chestahedron’ that he posits and demonstrates as the inner shape of the heart as a vortexing chamber. There are compelling correspondences – for example with the angles and overlays of the layering of heart muscles. He is artist and scientist both – and what I saw of him so far took time to show the process of its discovery – and of discoveries arising from it.
I also found:http://www.natureinstitute.org/pub/ic/ic7/heart.htm
This compliments the what I saw of the Chestahedron and the hearts spiralling musculature.

Whereas ‘life force’ was once associated with ‘vitalism’ – and now packaged as ‘the immune system’ – ( as if we know what it is) – the nature of plasma physics is an inherency of charge field dynamics of a quite different order to fluid dynamics – and may well account for why the heart is not designed as a huge pressure pump generally believed to be.
I feel some of these characteristics are missing from a flat-earth sort of model of the nature of blood as a plasma physical phenomenon, and exploring this may open the way to better understanding and better healing modalities.
However, one may lead a horse to healing but cannot make them drink.
So I see a psychic component in relation to sickness and the resistance or successful evasion of healing.

Perhaps ‘alienation’ is a loss of resonant ‘connection’ within the larger charge field of natural energy sources of supply)? Not ‘just psychological’ (as if the mind is rationalized away by its subjection to ‘experts’).

I also see a heavy suppressive movement holding a sense of disconnection as a self-protective gesture. (Fear). Scarcity and control (control in the negative sense) go together. Monopoly ‘medicine’ is one of many examples that operate an ‘anti-life’ agenda to grasp at power, privilege and profit – at expense of the whole, which includes oneself.

While we can see this patterning in ‘pharma’ along with its captive mind-share, the same operates as invested identity in our own life. Joy aligned purpose is health giving (and receiving) where an ongoing fearful defence against perceived or believed pain and loss operates a quite different biochemistry. The two can be confused – as in addictive behaviours deemed to be joy, or honest facing of fears deemed to be morbid and joyless. In many ways, I see society being engineered to sickness, as a broad spectrum of joylessness, that takes the form of a wielded technocracy – except the ‘technical expertise’ is applied to better manage sickness and powerlessness, and not to serve the health and vitality of society as a whole.

How many researchers does it take to change a light bulb?
What if the bulb did not need changing, but the voltage was too weak?
Or whats the point of changing bulbs if they blow anyway because the current is too erratic?

The unwillingness to embrace one’s shadow is perhaps the protection of ‘stress’ as the norm or model to which life must be fitted, subjected, or sacrificed. There are many who effectively choose to die by treatment when other paths are possible in principle – if not in the timing of the capacity to recognize it, because surely they – or their expert scientist backed treatment, would know if there were a better option. But of course they would wouldn’t they? Unthinkable makes invisible.

However, timing is everything, and I trust you are where you need to be in what you need to be attending now. Why would I not! Conscious choices can only grow conscious-ness – whatever their feedback.

Is calcium buildup the CAUSE or just a result of some other action or process? These types of questions are important, because taking drug related action to reduce calcium is like taking statins to reduce Cholesterol. The same reasoning applies to so many other chemicals identified by research as playing some role in some kind of pathology.

Well deficiency in Vit k2 plays a role – as previously noted here. I sense that whatever it looks like, the nutrients and minerals in most mass produced food are low, and dealing with stress and toxins can use up what we have and lead to imbalance and lack of full function.
Low salt diets – along with other government recommended diet advices may all contribute.

The idea is – getting and keeping everyone and everything off balance and sick, as a captive and controllable resource to exploit. But I feel there are others aspects to what the body is and does that we read wrongly and interfere. Generally we get in our own way. Either by ‘improving’ on life in attempt to be ‘more’ than we are, or in fear of pain and loss as a result of losing trust and awareness of who we really are. They are two sides of one thing. Pride of self inflation and fear-driven attempts to limit loss or regain what is believed lost. The medical model of egoism is the intent to support and protect it against losing one’s freedom to ignore and abuse the body – along with each other, our world and our self.

I found this interesting too, re: Troponin and Sedentary life. Keep on the move … “Sedentary behavior is associated with obesity, insulin resistance and fat deposition in the heart, all of which can lead to injury to heart cells,” he says. “On the other hand, the people who sat for 10 hours or more tended to have above-average troponin levels in their blood. These levels were well below those indicative of a heart attack. But they were high enough to constitute “subclinical cardiac injury,” according to the study’s authors.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/20/well/move/why-sitting-may-be-bad-for-your-heart.html?_r=0 Sorry if you guys already discussed, early in Sydney and have to fly!

Gary Tumeric and blue berries are all part of my daily diet. And berberine capsules also. Ginger less frequent just because of my habits. Sigh !
However be careful you know which cinnamon you are taking. It is taken from the bark of 2 very different species of tree in India & Sri Lanka. One is sold as cinnamon and smells the same, & is ok only in tiny doses but can dangerous in larger amounts. Only true Cinnamon is the real thing and not hazzardous, and that is mostly from Sri Lanka.

Bill in Oz: Right you are. I think we only get the fake cinnamon here in the U.S. I put a little bit of the ground in with the ground coffee (I also put cardamom and cloves into the grinder) when I make my morning cup. I did not know the fake cinnamon was toxic. Yikes! I wonder if the Indian store has real cinnamon. How can you tell the difference?

The Cinnamon sticks I was having in my coffee ( with cream ) had no id at all on the packaging so I binned them.
I did find cinnamon powder which was labelled at “Cinnamoni verum” but much ore expensive…And even now I am a bit dubious…

Bill in Oz: Real cinnamon probably is more expensive, but this is no guarantee it’s the real stuff. I am always dubious. I trust the Health Ranger store, as he has a test lab and takes great pride in the quality of his products, but I doubt they ship to Australia, and who knows what regulations govern this. His line is supplements, and cinnamon is probably considered a food, but I’ll check, anyway.

If anyone says something is toxic or bad, or that it is a cure or good, there’s The opportunity to invoke consciousness in place of reactive imprinting and repeating that can result in ‘herd auto-immunity’ to any rising consciousness that is associated with the ‘smeared sample’.

Gary here is a link on Cinnamon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon#Toxicity
‘Cinnamon spice’ is harvested from 2 different tree species :
1 Cinnamon verum – basically this is only found in Sri Lanka and close by parts of Southern India. It’s rare and NOT toxic.
2: Csssia Cinnamon -which is found through the tropicalareas of India, Thailand Indonesia, Burma etc. It’s fairly common and widespread. The Cinnamon obtained from the bark of these trees is high in Coumarin & is chemically similar to the blood thinning drug Warfarin.
So I now do not buy any Cinnamon spice unless it states specifically that it is Cinnamon Verum. True Cinnamon without the dose of blood thinning drug.

Bill in Oz: Thanks. I looked it up in my 1950 edition of (LH) Bailey’s “Manual of Cultivated Plants.” He calls Cinnamomum zeylanicum “the cinnamon of commerce,” and says that Cinnamomum Cassia is “sometimes used as a substitute for cinnamon.” Sure enough I looked at the jar this morning, and it said it is from “the sweetest of the cassia varieties.” I dumped it out before I put the coffee in, and won’t be using it any more. I had Mohs surgery in September, and the surgeon asked me if I was taking a blood thinner, I guess because I bled like a stuck pig. Makes me wonder.

Laws? What does anyone care? When governments can mandate vaccines such as Guardsil for a condition of cancer with a risk of 1:40,000, when the vaccine has a risk of causing damage or death of 1:500, as long as there is money to be made, and there is litle chance of proving liability, nothing will be done.

In the UK it is simple to buy actual cinnamon rather than the substitute.
We buy organic spices that to the best of our knowing have not been irradiated to favour the storage and distribution sector.
In US – I have the sense that freedom to not label, mislabel or lie cheat and steal is protected under the first amendment – when you are a corporate cartel, But not when suggesting or repeating that anything non pharmaceutical is any kind of treatment of cure for any kind of pharma-treatable disease.

Incidentally – on UK death statistics I noted the sections for “vaccine preventable diseases”.

As to not using the law where it may still hold a check or account because “There’s nothing you can do that will make any difference”, I ask – is this your thought that you can stand in and give a full witness to – or is it something ‘the pharma’ cultivates in his crop?

A lot of what runs a sick system is the use of laws of contract. I believe we need the law and need to use it and regain a law that serves the whole instead of not as a weapon by private agenda upon the whole.

Bill in Oz: I went around today looking for the real stuff, with no luck. By the way, in the “Findings” in the current Harpers magazine it says, “A new city of gloomy octopuses was discovered off the coast of Australia, and octopuses were walking out of the sea and dying in Wales.” WTF?? I know they have big brains and eyes, and plenty of ink, but moods, too? Are they being offered mental health services? Perhaps they’re gloomy because they have CVD?

Gary, that has been my experience with real cinnamon also so…As for Octopususes walking ashore ‘depressed and gloomy’, I know nothing and have heard nothing about it before..But maybe the story is about the original Wales in the UK, not New South Wales…

Yes, the Mulgara seems cute..And one I did not know about at all until I read that news report…
The really interesting thing is that is happened because the accidental release of the Calisi virus which wipe out the invading rabbits. It was this permitted the natural regrowth of the natural Australian desert vegetation it depends on for it’s habitat.

All this was happening in the North East corner of NSW – just across the border from South Australia..There I got all the cardinal points in this time !
🙂

AH Notepad mentioned cane toads : there is as yet no effective way of controlling them and they have in the last 20 years spread from coastal Queensland across the Northern Territory to the Kimberberly in WA…And a wave of death happens for native wildlife as they all try out the incoming cane toads for dinner and die of poisoning,, I read recently that soem research tems are trying to teach quolls to avoid cane toads by giving them small doses of cane toad meat ( the poison glands removed ) with a vile tasting additive. And they have had some success. Quolls avoid the cane toads and the mothers teach their young to avoid it also.

Hello all – just want to send everyone here my warmest Christmas greetings. This is SUCH a wonderful site and my special thanks go to you, Dr. Kendrick, for your never ending and tireless work and to all those who contribute and brighten my day. Thank you, one and all. 👏
Jan B
🎄🎄🎄

Jan B: Thank you! And bless you. This is indeed one of the most important communities of which I am a member. Thanks to Dr. Kendrick for being such a gracious host, providing everything except the glass of wine.

Randal, the link you provided about Taurine is PAYWALLED
So it is BLACKBALLED.
This second link : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3253515/
that you provide, is basically just a review of other lots of other studies with no actual research conducted. It then has this statement at the end :
“The significant knowledge gap on the role of taurine in the vasculature suggests the need for further research in experimental models and ultimately human subjects. Additional studies to address these issues may lead to the development of therapeutic or diet-based strategies to reduce the burdens of vascular disease.”

So Summurising :
1 Lots of research has been done into Taurine
2: Here is a list of research papers about Taurine.
3: These research papers prove that it helps people with CVD
4: Despite this we need to get more money & do more research to prove it again.
AND Finally
5 : Taurine is naturally found in meat.

Bill in Oz: Five or six years ago I heard a presentation by Stephanie Seneff concerning taurine. She has it, along with the slides, on her web site. Very important amino acid. I’ve never considered supplementing with it because, as you say, there is plenty in meat.

Bill in Oz
Can you point me to the request by Malcolm that we only use non-paywalled material.
I have let your edict on paywalled stuff pass a couple of times . . . but . . . .
What you should have written in your comment above is: “Randal, the link you provided about Taurine is PAYWALLED . . . So * I HAVE* BLACKBALLED it.” (. . . even so, not happy about being shouted at.)

You seem to be saying that the only papers that have credibility are the one that are open access – clearly a curious assertion.

You could always try Sci-Hub . . . That would really hurt the publishers.

Give me a minute while I pull out my best full-body flame protectant fire-proof suit.

This is a tricky one. I don’t think I requested that we should only use open access papers, but of course pointing to information that no-one else can see is not very helpful either. I am not sure what the solution to this may be.

Randel, you are asking me to to do your work for you mate. It’s Christmas morning I have more important things to do. A hint : Dr K. comment on this starts with the word ” Absolutely”

Here is my opinion : If the actual article is not freely available and only an abstract, who can assess how well or how incompetently the research cited is ? Certainly not me.

You producing paywalled abstracts to influence discussions here reminds me of a card shark gambler pulling aces from up his sleeve. It smells mate.

Now there is an real issue here and a very real difference in ideology. Basically under a paywalled world, only the rich have access to scientific research. In a free access world, it’s us folks own innate drive to know and think and analyse which determines it.

Thats a bit harsh Bill, citing a paywall article can easily be done without involving some machieveliian motive. Personally I think its OK to cite such evidence, yes I agree its a dam shame that good and bad stuff is hidden like this but imagine if Dr Krafts excellent work on degrees of diabetes was behind a paywall, would I be happy that no one had dared mention it on here because of a paywall rule. I would prefer that he cites it and leaves it up to individuals to either pay for it or ignore

Smartersig, please note that Science advances on the basis of evidence being presented to support a hypothesis.

Now please repeat after me : ” An abstract does NOT present evidence.”

So what is an abstract ? An abstract is just a teaser to get us folks interested..
And with paywalled stuff, a way of making money through sales without any knowledge of the quality of the research evidence.
Would you buy a new or used car on this basis ? No I thunk not.
Would you buy a book on this basis ? Even Amazon allows us to ‘look inside’ before buying as do book shop owners and managers. So again I thunk not.
Would you buy roses for the lady friend or wife, without smelling them & seeing them first ?
No thunk not again.
Would you buy a kettle for god’s sake without a guarantee it actually works and will be replaced or money back, if it doesn’t ?
Thunk not ?

Get your hand in your pocket and pay for it or perhaps by citing a paywall source someone on here will have accessed it and can divulge the detail. I agree its an inconvenience but its madness to say that any paywalled research should not be mentioned on here.

Gary, here it is Christmas evening.. And it’s been a good day. This morning I worked in the garden planting more eggplants and capsicums and lettuces. And later we were with family over a long leisurely meal, drinks and extended discussions. We started outside under a patio, basking in the sun’s warmth drinking some nice red Malbec wine & eating hot organic sourdough spelt rolls with home made tzatsiki of yogurt, cucumber, olive oil, vinegar, home grown garlc, fresh mint and olive…. Later we adjourned inside out of the sun for a feast with turkey, ham, baked potatoes or potato salad and wine.. And at the end my Lady’s wonderful Filipino deserts were presented along with coffee.

Definitely too much food ! But it was a day of family and friends coming together & so special. No stressing at all….And I prepared by not eating breakfast…

May all also enjoy such a day, even if blessed by cold and floods instead of our balmy summer day

Bill in Oz: We had a lovely family Christmas dinner here, too (though chilly!). My wife made leche flan, and forgot to add the sugar! For me it tasted fine because I only rarely eat sugar, but the rest were not so pleased!

@annalaurie.. I have just found your comment of the 19th :
” in my dysfunctional family, it was taboo to discuss my father’s suicide attempts, his alcoholism, his depression, his inability to function as an adult, or his acutely sadistic personality. ”

I had a similar experience growing up in my family. But in my case in the 1950’s & 60’s, it was my mother’s extreme devotion to Catholicism and consequently her refusal to allow any birth control..After 9 pregnancies, she was diagnosed as ‘needing’ a hysterectomy !

And subsequent to that she developed a mental illness. My suspician is that this was a hormonal imbalance due to the operation designed to prevent further pregnancies. But it was treated as schizophrenia & was a prescribed drugs ..plus electro-convulsive shock therapy…etc etc.. that destroyed her personality.

So if you were to discuss the utter nonsense & stupidity of the Catholic Church’s celibate priests presuming to offer advice and guidance to people about their sex lives ans sexuality, you would find me in complete agreement.

I think all such celibates ( if such they be given the pedophilia present among them at least here in Australia ) should bugger off out of people’s bed rooms.

And is there a CVD connection in this comment : yes my mother at 72 had 5 blocked arteries and was ‘Cabbaged’ for her trouble….Yes, stress does have consequences !

Yes, having been raised Catholic (long since left that behind), attending Catholic schools, etc., I always thought it was the height of idiocy for the celibate religious to presume to advise non-celibate folk. Over the years, I’ve seen how religion can be a double-edged sword — a source of comfort for some, and a source of emotional torture for others. I think the latter is more likely for those that get obsessive over it, and perhaps take it all far too seriously.

It is interesting to hear from other commenters on the traits in their dysfunctional families, especially because there are so many common factors: domestic violence, alcoholism/substance abuse, suicide, refusal to confront or even mention the mental health issues, stress leading to CVD and other health problems.

Hmm. In my family most things were very openly discussed. Yet, when I mention that I have made some profound changes in the past 3 weeks, I am referring to using certain techniques (holosync brain wave entrainment) and certain other substances to sit alone in the dark and ask questions to get at answers. In two cases I resolved and understood certain emotional decisions I made at about age 5 and 7, and both involved scenes from my childhood, specifically, my mother’s emotional illness and how it affected me. It caused or augmented certain “cancer prone” personality traits, such as being too worried for others, taking on more burdens than I can bear, putting others’ needs first, but most deadly was stuffing the frustration involved and reacting instead with utter calm. This meant that I had feelings of hurt and betrayal and anger at my own being’s need to thrive not met or honored, and because I took certain things too quietly, I did not defend myself or stick up for myself. The reason for that latter – and I had to probe very hard for this – was that when my mother told me I could drop dead for all she cared in response to a happy question about going to play – I was stunned. And my ego protected me almost immediately so that until last week, although I remembered the incident, I never was consciously aware of the several emotions involved. And the question I had put to my subconscious mind was “Why do I have a tendency to have huge blowups of anger that I can’t control because I do not see it coming”?

Here in Oz an Australia wide Royal Commission into sexual abuse of children in religious institutions has just concluded and made it’s recommendations. It took 5 years to do it but it is important. and worthwhile.
Over 8000 persons came forward to provide evidence by abuse of Catholic priests and brothers. These people constituted about 80% of all the people who gave evidence. The other 20% were about pedophiles in Anglican, Salvation Army, other Protestant churches & two Jewish institutions. So the Catholic church was overwhelmingly the one sheltering pedophiles. ( And by the way. we have a Cardial facing trial in Melbourne facing accusations of pedophilia. Cardinal George Pell. )

One of the major recommendations : That celibacy be optional for all Catholic priests in Australia. I wonder if the law could encourage this. It would be a step forward. The Church however is hostile.
Another that unmarried priests and other religious not be allowed to be principals or head teachers of any schools or other institutions involving children. Now here 90% of Catholic school funding comes from governments. So this will very easily be gained via financial pressure if need be.

Oh Jean! Been there; been there; thrice been there!
( I sound like a character from a Christmas panto)
You are describing my exact history….prescribed totally unrequired B/P drugs, thus instigating type 2, until I pointed it out to to my ( now retired) GP, who agreed with why I thought my BMs were raised, and stopped the prescription.
A diabetes nurse who doubled, and doubled up my medications to the highest prescribable limits when my bloods were decifered by the computer.
A new GP who became incensed that I had the audacity to question anything, and declared that I would likely experience a ‘cardiac event’ if I disregarded instructions.
But…..here I am…enjoying life without their interventions and prescriptions.
Best wishes for the festive season.

And BTW, while I fully agree that Dr. K has “hit a home run” in identifying stress as the major factor in the development of CVD, and while CVD is the main focus of this blog, we should all be aware that stress is an underlying factor in the development of many other illnesses.

I was TV channel hoping on Wednesday evening when I stumbled across ‘GPs – Behind Closed Doors’, a documentary series on Channel 5 in the UK. The doctor was talking to a very overweight woman who didn’t appear entirely stupid. The second I saw her I thought “Diabetic.” It was so predictable. The woman had gone for blood test results after suspecting that she was diabetic. She described the classic symptom of an unquenchable first. The doctor asked, “How did you deal with the thirst”. After a couple of questions, she answered, “With sugary drinks.” And yes, the blood tests confirmed that she was diabetic.

I expected the doctor to say, “Please stop drinking sugary drinks,” but not a word. The doctor booked the patient in to see the nutritionist where she will no doubt be advised on the NHS ‘Eatwell Plate’ and all its wrong-headed glucose-eating guidelines.

“She described the classic symptom of an unquenchable first. The doctor asked, “How did you deal with the thirst”. After a couple of questions, she answered, “With sugary drinks.” And yes, the blood tests confirmed that she was diabetic.”
The funny thing is that I was declared to be diabetic, while taking thiazide diuretic, and it came right out of the blue since I had never had any kind of thirst. My cure came about when I read the leaflet and ditched the pills, and the present, worthwhile, GP has unchecked that box. The diabetes nurse was worse than useless, and made some unforgiveable pronouncements. She was also one of these irritating ones who has a modest qualification, which mean’t she knew better than me.

Jean, whenever possible I spare myself the nurses, often overweight, who advise on obesity, diabetes and how much I should drink. I can no longer keep a straight face. I ask about research to support their opinions and the straight face turns blank.

I have worked out why medical advice on diet is often unhelpful. It’s because the medical profession uses the wrong units for nutritional value when advising patients.

They use calories per gram. They should actually use calories per unit volume, such as calories per litre. And that is per litre after being chewed and just before swallowing.

This is because we eat until we are full. In other words, our consumption of food is volume-regulated, not mass-regulated.

Calories per gram is fine for a rocket scientist. They are looking for the most calories per gram of rocket fuel because they have to lift all that weight against gravity. That’s why they use liquid hydrogen, which has the best calories per gram of anything. The trouble is, it is extremely light, so they have to build huge external tanks to take the volume of liquid hydrogen needed to launch the space shuttle.

But we can’t add huge external tanks. Our stomach volume is more or less fixed.

We are like a motor car that can burn any sort of fuel — petrol, diesel, alcohol, coal dust, sawdust, liquid hydrogen — you name it, our car can run on it. But we have a fixed size of fuel tank. So we don’t buy fuel by the kilogram, we buy by the litre. And a litre of sawdust doesn’t get us as far as a litre of petrol, because of the low calorific value. But sawdust is cheaper. So we have to make a decision: cheap fuel, short journey or many stops for refuelling; expensive fuel, can go far. Liquid hydrogen, can go like a rocket but burn out quickly. Given the calories per litre, we can make the best choice.

We can see why baked goods such as bread, buns, and biscuits, are so fattening. Chew them, and once all the air is driven out, there is very little volume left. The calories per litre or per millilitre of the chewed food hitting our stomach is huge. On the other hand, boiled potato, which doesn’t compress much during chewing, it just gets softer and mushier, remains a moderate calories per litre.

Sugary liquids are a special case. I believe liquids leave the stomach almost immediately, so maybe we have to multiply the calories per litre by some factor to get the true volumetric impact.

Rank foods on a calories per litre basis, and get rid of the nonsense that fat has more calories per gram than carbs, therefore cut fat to lose weight. Cut the biggest calorie-per-litre foods first. (I suspect baked wheaten products and sugary liquids will be the worst offenders.)

“This is because we eat until we are full. In other words, our consumption of food is volume-regulated, not mass-regulated.

Since cutting out carbohydrates I eat until I am satisfied. That is not necessarily being full, probably a long way from it. A couple of eggs for breakfast. Maybe lunch, maybe no lunch. Maybe no breakfast, then lunch or maybe not. I don’t feel hungry. A bit (well quite a few bits) of cheese for lunch, but nowhere the mountains I used to get through when it included carbs such as, er….., potatoes, and/or pasta, or rice. I stuffed my self full, and was looking for more an hour or two later. Now missing a day here and there is no hardship.

Moving on from all the diet hypotheses and to a different field as suggested by Dr. Kendrick : How many of us remember the post on Viagra by Dr Kendrick earlier this year and how it reduced CVD attacks.

Usually Dennis always includes recommendations about changing diet ( paleo preferred ) in his posts. But not this time. He’s keeping it simple.
Now this is interesting. I wonder though if there are any studies of women using Viagra tp cure CVD and whether it is beneficial for them also.

Bill in Oz, I am looking forward to the day when we find a “unified theory of human health”. One of the fundamental rules is to keep glucose/insulin levels low. At a cellular level elevated glucose appears to be involved in many diseases. After diet, stress also increases blood glucose. With a healthy diet the blood glucose level is low and any stress response would not be as debilitating. Saying that diet doesn’t matter does not compute. Here is an example:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14610325
CONCLUSIONS:
“The present study demonstrated that high glucose increased eNOS protein expression, but decreased NO release finally. Decreased NO bioavailability seems to be associated with overproduction of superoxide and L-arginine deficiency. These findings provide an important clue in clarifying the molecular basis of the mechanisms by which elevated glucose leads to an imbalance between NO and superoxide, resulting in impaired endothelial function. In addition, restoration of NO function by both administration of L-arginine and adequate intake of antioxidants suggests a potential supportive treatment for patients with diabetic nephropathy.”

The business model prefers not to mention diet, only option is medical intervention.

Andy, that’s an interesting abstract of an article from …..2003. But they want either
EUR 35.00 or USD $39.00 to rent the full article for 24 hours…. It’s old paywalled stuff ( by greedy publishers ? ) So I again am giving it the big blackball flick…( Aces from up the sleeve ? )

Would you like to try again with some real research we can all examine and discuss ? And work out whether it’s hocus pocus or not ..There is after all a lot of fake science out there.

Bill . . . In your response to Andy . . . You require him to produce some “real research that we can all examine etc” The way you put it implies that research behind a paywall is not “real research” I have not found a correlation between access status and research credibility.
(Again, suggest you try Sci-hub.hk)

On your dismissal of research published in 2003 being “old” . . . could you clarify at what point we are allowed to consider research to be new enough to be taken seriously? Are you thinking of a 10 year rule? – anything before 2007 is suspect?

Anthony, wold you pay full new price for a14 year old computer ? Or car ? Or book ? Or cod liver oil capsules ? Or a mobile phone ? Or a multitude of others things ….?

An article that is 14 years old may have been new and cutting edge when it was written. However there is a high probabllity that it has been superceeed by more recent research…So why buy it as if it is ‘new’

However if your pocket and generosity goes that far you could buy it and present a good summary and analysis here.

Bill, 14 year old information may well be worth the full price. Research done in the 1930s by Weston Price is priceless, as is the work by Fredrick Klenner and Irwin Stone et al. Much of present day research is bordering on the worthless (and even fraudlent in the case of the CDC and Merck on vaccines), and is highlighted from time to time on this blog by a certain GP, particularly re: statins and cholesterol.

AH, As it happens I agree entirely with you as regards your comment about older research such as hat done by Weston Price. ( I know nothing about the other 2 individuals you mention. )

And I also think you are right about the worthlessness of much of modern research which is published in both paywalled online journals. and in free access journals.

The problem is that there is now a huge global academic industry churning out graduates, honors students, masters students, doctoral students and posts doc. fellowships.. And all of them are seeking advancement, position, salary, position & tenure in the world. And publishing one’s research is the accepted way of advancement up the escalator..

No doubt some do valuable honest research. In fact I suspect that with such a level of activity this is also inevitable. However there is for all the temptation to gild the lily. There is temptation to pay to have seemingly unimpressive research ‘published’ via free access online journals so one can claim it has been published. There is the temptation to publish via paywalled online journals with only a brief abstract publicly available and so avoid and real criticism analysis. . And there is the temptation to cash in big time, when one has done research which might lead to a pot of gold for a company or corporation as with patented pharmaceuticals

A H N., A PS : I agree with you also about the worth of a certain doctor’s published work on statins and chloresterol….And the interesting thing is that Dr K’s work on these two areas is all available to be read for free by all ..No paywall at all.. I have looked at previous posts going back to 2002.. And none of it is paywalled..

And I guess that acknowledgement make sit important to say ” Thank you Dr. Kendrick.”

Bill in Oz: Very important to make a distinction between what the Weston A Price Foundation (WAPF) promotes, and the work of Weston A Price. He advised caution in using cod liver oil, as does the much older Price Pottenger Nutrition Foundation (PPNF), formed in the early 1950’s to further the work of Dr. Price and Dr. Francis Pottenger, an M.D. They are the reason Nutrition and Physical Degeneration is still in print. They also have the archive of Dr. Price’s published work in dentistry. He was the head of the American Dental Association research lab for twenty five years. I no longer read anything WAPF publishes. Much of it is excellent, but some I consider dangerous, some inconsequential, such as the phytate scare.

Thanks Gary for the pointers about this. I was not aware of the Price Pottenger Foundation at all. I have read the published works of Weston Price but it was some years ago

I have always been slightly puzzled about the nature of the ‘relationship’ between Weston Price, the man and dentist, who died in the 1960’s (?) and the Weston A Price Foundation lead by Sally Fallon since it establishment in the 1990’s..

Like you I have found some stuff published by WAPF excellent. Some which is odd; and some which is totally perplexing if not bizarre and so to be ignored. A “curate’s egg” of sorts …

Bill in Oz: Weston Price passed away in 1948. He was born in Canada, I think in 1870, but it may have been 1880, I don’t recall for certain, and suffered a life-threatening illness in youth. That’s all I can remember! Sally Fallon Morrell once worked for PPNF.

Bill in Oz: Weston Price and his wife Florence had one son. His father performed a root canal on one of his teeth in his teenage years, and he died of the resulting infection. This launched him into research about root canals, which led him to the conclusion that they are dangerous. The ADA no longer follows his advice (he was their lead researcher at the time). What he discovered was that, in addition to the main nerve canal in teeth, there are many small, inaccessible horizontal canals in teeth, which can harbor bacteria, and, with no blood supply, can become dangerously infected. So, as far as I know, there are no descendants. My own dentist is well-aquainted with Dr. Price’s work, and wants to extract my remaining root-canal tooth. But the implant costs U.S. $6,000, since they use zirconium oxide, a biologically inert ceramic-like material, and they make them right there in the office.

Inplants are very expensive here as well…. But many people get them as they are far better than a plate. I saw many dentists in the Philippines last yaer advertising that they did inplants, supposedly for about 20% of the Aussie cost. But I wondered about the risks…..And never did it

Bill in Oz: I’ve had both dental and medical care in the Philippines, both very good, but like anywhere the quality is likely uneven there. My caution about implants comes from my dentist, whom I trust. Most of them are made of titanium, and we don’t want metal in our heads (or hips for that matter).

Bill, sorry mate, but on the blackballing issue you seem to be losing it. I can understand what you are saying and I can feel your anger against the publishing houses, but this cutting off your nose to spite your face attitude, denying anyone the right quote paywalled stuff, is not sensible.

I note that you have softened your position and that you now allow us to refer to paywalled stuff. I would say that your compromise . . . to provide “a good summary and analysis”, is something that could be generally encouraged whenever a reference is given. The minimum should be the title of the reference rather than just the URL alone.

On the “Anthony, wold you pay full new price for a14 year old computer ? . . . etc.” On second thoughts, I am sure you realise there is a difference between consumer goods and knowledge/information.

But on the currency of research, most certainly, when looking into a topic . . . like today’s “Insulin resistance and CVD” the reviews I will prioritise will be the latest reviews. . . but within those reviews there will be references to work carried out years previously . . . I will get the relevance from the title and the abstract and let these decide whether I pursue the reference. Age will not be the first thing I think about. Some papers will, no doubt, be behind a paywall. (Bless Alexandra and continuing success to her)

It is the 24th here in Oz. A day before Xmas. I am not a Christian. But still I wish a happy and peaceful holiday to all here along with my thanks to all here, but especially Dr K.. for all the thoughts, information, time and sheer dedication this past year. Long may we continue.

Hi Goran,
I’ve been very preoccupied but thank you for your post up above. If I were in Sweden one treatment I might consider is Rig Vir which is available from a clinic in Riga.
My daughter tried to talk me into chemo. Funny, but we know about 3 people who have just passed away and they all did chemo.
Your relative should keep looking and finding what treatments seem good to him. I think a mistake can be to rely too much on one thing. Do a few.

AnnaM, I am not sure a previous comment I posted came through to you. But, it might be worth checking to see if Dr. Seyfried and colleagues have had success with your type of cancer with their protocol, which includes a ketogenic diet. They have even had at least partial success with some intransigent types of cancers, like glioblastoma.

Also I wonder if something I am doing and benefiting from has any connection to the cuff pulse treatment mentioned by others on here and the article. Each morning I get into a shoulder stand position and I do 100 cycle riding motions followed by 60 feet together leg straighten leg to chest movements. The idea is that I am creating circulation but also pushing it from the legs. I also seem to remember my Yoga teacher from many years ago saying that shoulder stands are good for the Thyroid. I know some of you know far more about this than I do so would welcome your thoughts. Link below, Oh by the way happy holiday and may your god and diet go with you.

Late to the party but want to add this. I am the youngest of 5, was a 2-week old newborn when the 4 others got measles. I was breastfed and did not contract it. At age 5 I got the vaccine. Thought I had immunity. Thought I could give immunity to my own babies in utero. Thought I could protect them with my breast milk. Turns out, none of that is true and now much younger babies do get measles because in addition to breast milk, a woman who has true immunity gives it via the placenta which lasts the baby 6-8 months or so. Even if she doesn’t breast feed. As a health care worker, I was forced into 2 more measles vaccines. And I have had at least one titer drawn which showed immunity. But a couple of years ago when getting a new job they drew a titer and I do no longer show immunity. Three shots, instead of once getting the disease, and now in my late 50s with no immunity. IWhich do you think I would have preferred? ‘m pretty sure I have a better than average immune system. Had German measles by the way, and the titers always show immunity. So now we would like to take ourselves as a population to where the Native Americans were, I guess, where an epidemic of measles can kill 90% of adults and 50% of kids.

AnnaM: Yes. Clearly the measles vaccine was one of the stupidest things our government has ever done, because it broke that chain of protection from mother to infant. They created it, not because it was needed, but because they had the technology to do so. Guardakill is a product of technology, too, rather than need (the cervical cancer rate in the U.S. is 6-7/100,000; the rate of serious adverse events from the vaccine at least 1/100). The rate of seizures (1 in 640) is five times as high from the measles vaccine as it is from natural measles. Not pleasant, but it gives the gift of lifetime immunity. Rubella (German measles) is a milder disease, only dangerous during pregnancy.

Did I see somewhere that measles vaccine, or measles itself, can actually cancel previuosly acquired immunities? I had a mild case of chicken pox as a very young child. I had measles some time later, but before the age of five. At nineteen I caught chicken pox again, and it was gruesome. So I have got that immunity back, and will not be going anywhere near a shingles vaccine.
Nobody has mentioned the other vaccine we were attacked with – whooping cough (pertussis). Had that and had the disease as well, after the vaccine.

Jean, I had measles at 5 and it caused severe sight problems, dealt with by 2 successful operations, free on the newly commissioned NHS. I acquired chicken pox at 6, and recall being very poorly indeed, but not as bad as acquiring shingles last year, when I thought I was dying.
Years ago, as a fairly mature 46 year old RGN, I was called into a treatment room by 2 newly qualified house officers, who asked me if I could help them to diagnose, or dismiss, a case of suspected diphtheria……now that really caused me distress….they must have thought I was about 85 if they thought I had such knowledge.

JD Patten: Herd immunity is effective. However, it only occurs in communities experiencing natural infection and has nothing to do with vaccines. I gave you a reason that I think universal measles vaccination was a bad idea-that it broke the mother-infant chain of protective antibodies in breast milk. But there is a second reason-most people below the age of about sixty have little or no immunity because they never had measles. Measles is dangerous in both infancy and adulthood, relatively benign in childhood, especially when treated with vitamin C. Forty percent of those who got measles in the Disneyland outbreak were fully vaccinated. This is vaccine failure. This is a huge number, and it occurs because of waning immunity. Lifetime disabilities from infectious diseases such as yours are a terrible thing, but they are uncommon. I know not a single person in my cohort who didn’t fully recover from measles. As for RCT’s comparing the health of vaxxed with un-vaxxed, they will never be done unless they are privately funded. Professor Exley’s work was privately funded. Our criminal government cares not a whit about vaccine injury, and refuses to fund any investigation into it. Bills to do so have been introduced in Congress, and all have died because pharma is in charge. They just throw them under the bus. As for the presence of Al in human brain tissue, see Professor Exley’s work. For the amounts of Al in vaccines see the CDC website. For toxicity also see the medical textbook, “Vaccines and Autoimmunity,” Yehuda Schoenfeld, ed. (chapter summaries are available on line, as this is a very expensive book). Read the science on vaccinepapers.org. Also read what Boyd Haley (emeritus professor of chemistry) has to say about Al and Hg toxicity in brain tissue, and how that can be synergistically magnified in the presence of both. Hg i(25 mcg in the adult dose and 12.5 mcg in the infant dose) is in more than 70% of the influenza vaccine produced each year (according to the manufacturers). Infants routinely receive both Al and Hg in vaccines at a single “well baby” visit. And our children, both here and in the UK are ill, beset by chronic conditions which were rare in our childhood.

JDPatten: I found the link to the chapter summaries of “Vaccines and Autoimmunity”
cdn2.hubspot.net
All injury, disability, and premature death are tragic events for the affected and those close to them. What I seek is the truth. The following is true: No vaccine has ever been tested against placebo. Surveillance in safety testing is much too short (often no more than 14 days) to properly capture adverse events. There is no post-marketing surveillance of vaccines, except VAERS, which is a sham, capturing no more than 1% of adverse events (Congress made reporting mandatory, but never provided any enforcement mechanism). The U.S. government (and GAVI/WHO) is the primary purchaser of vaccines, so acts as a marketer for the manufacturers. In 2001 the CDC tested the Wakefield hypothesis on a cohort of Atlanta schoolchildren, found a causal link between early (before 36 months) MMR administration and autism. The five authors then gathered in a conference room and threw all the documents in a big garbage can, except Dr. William S. Thompson, the statistician on the study, who knew it was unethical and illegal. He retained all the documents, hired a whistle-blower attorney, and turned the documents over to Congressman William Posey. This is the subject of the film Vaxxed. As Robert DeNiro said, “Everybody should see this film.” And so forth. This is much too long and completely off topic, but while some vaccines may be called for in some circumstances, the vaccination regime worldwide is a criminal enterprise. Today’s children are ill with chronic conditions rare in our childhood. We’ve traded acute, temporary illness for chronic lifetime conditions.

JDPatten: My apologies. On duckduckgo type cmsri.org. At the website scroll down a little way, and on the right click “Download this free Summary of Studies from Vaccines and Autoimmunity.” CMSRI funds research, including Professor Exley’s recent aluminum paper.

Jean Humphries: The acellular pertussis vaccine, which replaced the dangerous whole-cell vaccine in the 90’s in the U.S. is almost completely worthless. Most of the cases in recent years in the U.S. were fully vaccinated (4-5 doses). The mumps vaccine in the MMR (Jeryl Lynn strain) is almost as worthless. There is a qui tam lawsuit in federal court in New York brought by the two (now former) Merck scientists who were in charge of the testing FDA requires for licensing to show efficacy. Merck (they allege) pulled all kinds of shenanigans, including using rabbit blood, to fake the tests. This will be heard in 2018, and discovery will bring out all of Merck’s criminal activity regarding the mumps portion. Fasten your seat belts. We may see the end of MMR. Hooray! Impossible to sue manufacturers for vaccine injury, but the government doesn’t look kindly on fraud, even vaccine fraud.

Martin,
You said stress has too many confounding details, such as whether people take up bad habits to deal with it. I think that a lot of addictive behavior is self medicating away the bad moods that persist when people have unresolved issues, but stress is still the driver.
For example, if stress kills, what are its mechanisms? How does it kill? Well, it can cause release of stress hormones, causing food not to be digested well, increasing belly fat and diabetes risk, it can disrupt sleep which might interfere with immune functioning, it might cause anger flareups at home that go on to cause cascading of more stress…

Anna,
I’m not disputing what you say, but I think we need something more specific than “Stress is the cause of [whatever]”.

For example, you might say we eat because we are hungry, therefore hunger is the cause of all diet-related conditions like diabetes, obesity, etc etc. I think you will agree that while true in a way, this is not very helpful. We have to drill down into the messy details before we can derive useful,

As my old marketing professor used to say, ‘we eat because we are hungry’ is not interesting. From a marketing perspective, the interesting questions are, why do we eat a chocolate rather than a packet of crisps; why Nestle rather than Cadburys; why mint crisp rather than fruit and nut? They spend millions finding the answers to these questions.

Similarly, why do we choose to get stressed over events? Why choose a stress that leads to heart disease rather than a stress that leads to cancer or suicide? Why choose self-medication rather than psychotherapy or pharmaceuticals? Why alcohol rather than sugar or marijuana or or self-harm or street drugs or whatever? A much more detailed and precise description of what is going on is needed.

Martin Back, agree with your line of thinking. Moving on to stress as the main cause of CVD and minimizing diet is not convincing without some details. Everything in the body is connected by many known and unknown pathways. We have HPA axis, gut/brain axis, gut/brain/liver axis, endothelial dysfunction, insulin resistance, inflammation, diabetes, etc. etc..Excess glucose/insulin appears to be the common denominator causing stress at a cellular level.

What you are proposing is an entire category of study regarding stress. That would be a good idea for several reasons, one of which is to get people to take it more seriously. On the other hand, a human organism is a very complicated thing with many individual variables. I am not sure how easy it might be to get at some of those answers. But trends can surely be found. A lot of those answers will be sociological and psychological. So it is early days yet but I think we know enough that it is most definitely interesting.

The newsletter is now about a Dr. Thomas Cowan, a practicing physician and founding board member of the Weston A. Price Foundation and a book he has authored.

In summary Dr. Thomas Cowan says the following about MI.

-Decreased parasympathetic tone followed by sympathetic nervous system activation
-Collateral circulation failure (lack of microcirculation to the heart)
-Lactic acid buildup in the heart muscle due to impaired mitochondrial function

This makes sense to me and I feel tempted to buy his book – an holistic approach in line with Dr. Kendrick’s stress approach?

The book seems also to be i line with what heretic Dr. Sroka has advocated for 30 years.

Goran, I remembering Cowan’s article from Wise Traditions magazine earlier this year…There were some very thoughtful perspectives in it. But he them went all mystical down the Rudolf Steiner road which I neither understood nor accepted. ( Isuspect I have developed a healthy scepticism of all mystics including Binra here 🙂 )

But if you do succomb to temptation and buy this new book, please let us all know what you think.

Bill in Oz: The reason I left the Weston A. Price Foundation is that, while most of what they promote is excellent advice, some of it is dangerous, such as the cod liver oil they promote. A healthy dose of skepticism is the best medicine. I tossed out most of my accumulated Wise Traditions because trust can vanish so quickly.

Gary, I am not ware of what the Weston Price Foundation says about cod liver oil. What happened ?
I was a subscriber of Wise Traditions for a while. But the fanaticism of Sally Fallon put me off, especially her attacks on Michael Pollan….

Bill in Oz: The whole cod liver oil controversy can be accessed at The Complete Patient (David Gumpert). Kaayla Daniel was the WAPF vice president after the passing of Mary Enig. The late Dr. Ron Schmid raised questions about the Green Pastures “fermented” cod liver oil after he was diagnosed with end-stage heart failure and connected it to taking it. Dr. Daniel tried to get the board to do lab testing, but Sally is basically a dictatress, the board just window dressing (Dr. Cowan is also on the board), and refused. So Dr. Daniel paid for the testing herself, and produced a report (available on her website). She was then fired. WAPF lost about 1/3 of its membership over this controversy. Other very ugly things went on, but this is not the place to air them. If you search davidgumpertgreenpastures you will find all his posts and gazillions of comments, including many by moi.

Gary thank you for filling me about this fiasco. I had no idea at all…..
I wax & wane about cod liver oil..Sometimes taking it and sometime not.But always taking a good dose of fish ol every day…All the brand names you mention are unknown to me and not available here in Oz..So I am unsure how applicable this is here…

But I agree that what the Weston Price Foundation offers needs to be examined and double checked. I used to check it against Authority Nutrition’s website. But now it has been boughyt and taken over by Healthline which is clearly commercially driven

Dr. Goran: You’re right. Cod liver oil is good, but only if properly harvested and packaged. The problem with the WAPF-endorsed Green Pastures cod liver oil is that is not from cod and it is held in tanks for who knows how long (to “ferment”). It is clearly rancid, and has very little vitamin D content. There are companies, such as Rosita, who produce CLO properly, from the Atlantic cod. I prefer to get my vitamin A from liver, and vitamin D from the sun, and supplements in winter.

J D Patten, thanks ! The link to the Vitamin D council website was an interesting perspective on modern American science and the role of money in it.

The president of the Vitamin D Council presents 2 choices :
1: Pay for research to be published on research journal websites with free public access.
or
2 : Make the public pay individually for access to paywalled websites
Frankly I am not impressed.
Why not publish these research articles on the Vitamin D Council’s own website for free ?
Why not provide press releases to the major media and so gain a global audience ?

Bill in Oz: If you are still interested in knowing about the HPV vaccines, ageofautism.com today posted an editorial by Dr. Jacob Puliyel, Head of Pediatrics, St. Stephens Hospital, Delhi, and a member of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation. (I believe the latter group is similar in function to our ACIP and the U.K.’s JCVI).

Bill in Oz: Success! I went to the local health food store, and they have all four kinds of cinnamon. The one I got says “FRONTIER CO-OP ORGANIC CEYLON CINNAMON Fair Trade Certified CO-OP GROWN IN SRI LANKA NON GMO NON-ETO (ethylene oxide) NON- IRRADIATED 50g (for U.S. $6.11) FRONTIERCOOP.COM PO Box 299 Norway, IA 52318 USA. Since Norway isn’t too far from Sweden, maybe Dr. Goran can get it, too. It is lighter in color and milder in aroma. I dumped a straight shot of it right into my coffee.

Jean Humphries: I lost an uncle to diptheria, as well, around 1920. Interesting that it only occurs when a bacteriophage (virus) invades the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Most of these bacteria are never invaded by the bacteriophage.

It is interesting what turns up when simply brousing the web. Today I went to revisit Bill Davis’ Wheatbelly web site..It has changed quite a bit.recently….
1: There is no search button..So looking for something interesting to me is not available any more.
2: Access is now largely membership based for which one pays a fee.. IE Davis’ stuff is now Paywalled.

3: Conclusion : Davis’ website is now about generating cash flow far more than promoting health.

And a day or so ago I found a copy of the Australianised version of Davis’ book “Wheatbelly”. It goes under the name “Lose the Wheat; Lose the Weight” here and was published in 2012. It is largely identical to the US version I read earlier this year. The explanation of how modern wheat varieties have been bred and altered from the wheat varieties grown until the 1960’s is the same. And there is the same complimentary break out box about ‘Real Wheat’, discussed by Davis in the USA edition.

But has no discussion at all that I can find about grains other than wheat, such as Rye, Kamut, Spelt, Barley, Oats…etc In fact they are are not even listed at all in the index.

Clearly his Target is just the modern wheat varieties used and processed in industrially made breads, pastas, flours and biscuits etc. But breads, pastas, etc made using other grains seem to get a free home run…

And as I mentioned it has no search button and most of the articles are for members only which one can become by paying a suitable fee which is $10.00 a month or $120 a year…And then you are in the “Inner Circle” or some such ?

Maybe the old free access website is still running concurrently ? Curious !

Maybe the AAHA (Australian Anti Health Association) has a finger in the pie. The pie recommended by the misguided dieticians you have over there, so you get max carbs -> diabetes -> amputated limbs -> demonstrated cure.

I adore this blog and how Dr. K persistently captures broad, underlying factors for heart disease. This morning I was reminded of my dissertation research, which focused on early childhood mental health as it relates to child care (and how it strangely aligns with so much of what is discussed here). As part of my research I traveled about greater Seattle observing child care settings. My wise supervisor had told me that what I would see could often be distilled down to “good things go together.” As I visited childcare centers, her words rang true. Centers with more books were also cleaner, had more open spaces to play, had more interesting toys, had better food, and were safer. One consistent finding was that teachers at less well off centers were much, much more likely to be obese (and judging from outward affect, depressed).

It really all does go together. When I’m less stressed I sleep better, am more engaged with my work, more patient with clients, more likely to eat good food, more likely to exercise regularly and on and on. My New Year’s resolution will cast a wide net – be more engaged with those around me, be appreciative of my life – and see where that takes me in regard to health. Thank you, Dr. K, for your wonderful work.

I stopped using google a couple of months ago when they fired the geek who very gently suggested that perhaps men and women are a tad different and maybe it was difficult to have absolute parity in hiring for all job categories because women are not as often attracted to supreme geekhood. And that after google said they wanted input and valued diversity. Regardless of what one thinks of the above opinion, I really do think free speech is a fundamental value upon which many others hang.

There’s an underlying (I think more interesting) question that the google employee didn’t ask: Is geekhood, as it is curretly defined, a largely male construct? If so, would it benefit from a more female version of geekhood? I spend most of my waking hours with persons with Autism, which at the high language/speech/logic level, is the ultimate form of geek. It is largely a male disorder due to the diminished crosstalk that occurs between hemispheres in male brains (Yes, I’m oversimplifying!). The females I spend time with, while autistic, often show a broader, superior form of social skill that often evades my make clients. The gals tend to be hugely, wonderfully creative. (Full disclosure: They’re my favorite people on the planet.) Which leads me to my prediction: If more females were included in Silicon Valley, there would be more creative, social, and less isolating technology. In other words, just because a system that excludes based upon some rubric of skills exists doesn’t mean that it’s the best system – it’s just one that exists. Just to tie this, however tangentially, to our topic here, just because the medical community has defined heart disease in a specific way does not mean that it is a useful system.

Well, Kid, it isn’t about definitions. Using the word geek was just in fun. The google company wants very much to hire those girls. But certain behaviors that are more common in males make one more likely to have those talents and that education.

You mention that female autists have an more normal time of it. Meanwhile I have observed that male paranoid schizophrenics are far more functional than their female counterparts.

No one is excluding the females of Silicon Valley. But they do exclude themselves. Some professions are more liked by one gender than another.

I did see your comment. I am aware of the ketogenic diet for cancer, and have leaned that way with intermittent fasting, low(ish) carbs and 2 meals daily for a couple of years now. For various reasons, I doubt that diet was a main cause of my cancer. For one thing, if it is everyone else is in deep trouble. I have an entire lifestyle that promotes good food (I garden, drink my own spring water, eat my own chickens, eat their eggs, have bought mostly raw milk and butter for years). Also, due to some things I have recently read, I think it best to give up dairy. That will make keto that much harder. I had an estrogen positive breast cancer with no progesterone receptors. This indicates hormonal imbalance and in my opinion all was driven by way too much acute and chronic stress.

That is why I have been putting so much effort into altering my internal psychic landscape. I want to no longer be the person whose inner terrain allowed or encouraged this to happen. I’m half way there! But I also am addressing the hormonal issues and taking some alternative anticancer treatments as well.